#these two are an unstoppable force and cannot be contained

[jennsterjay]

Can you imagine the chaos that would be Miles G and Peni interacting?

Like when Miles G joins the group to help fight the Spot for the big finale and he just kind of shuffles himself to the back of the group and Peni is there

And they both look at each other with resting depressed / bitch face and size each other up and scrutinize each other's tech and gear with their eyes and then at the same time they look at each other and say

"Huh... cool"

And then during the fight with The Spot, the whole time they're asking each other questions about each other's tech while attacking and dodging effortlessly because they're cool like that, and they get so engrossed in their tech conversations that the fight becomes more of an annoying background thing so they just lock in and do joint team duo attacks to help Miles so they can wrap up the fight and get back to their conversation on hydraulics faster

And after the group wins the fight and Hobie makes everyone secret watches- oh its so over

They both just drop into each other's dimensions at random times of the day and help each other with whatever tech or engine or weapon or gizmo or what have you and create the most tech thing ever that even regular Spider-Man villians couldn't understand

Miles G teaches Peni about present day tech (which is old tech to her) and Peni teaches Miles G about her present day tech (which is future tech to him) and they gain a wider understanding of the origins and mechanics of past and future tech and now with this knowledge they learn to build anything (Miguel has ranked them higher on the 'people to watch' list again) and Margo is involved in their shenanigans too.

They get into discussions about dubbed vs subbed anime, and Peni reintroduces Miles G to My Chemical Romance. Miles G is vibing with it, and Rio is entertained because Miles G has randomly entered his 'No one understands me' phase again

These two dimension hop to 1610B every other week just to go to the arcade house and kill it in some Dance Dance Revolution. They invite the others later (Miles: So you just invited me after you already did stuff without me in my dimension??).

They watch Big Hero Six together, and immediately try to figure out how to make those little magnet things (they do it in a day) and help each other upgrade Sp//dr with Baymax related protocols they like

Peni helps Miles upgrade his own suit of course and it gets the coolest most badass design known to man, his mask can translate 1000 different languages, has built in 'prowler-sense' to detect danger, and God knows what else and Kingpin, Doc Ock, Scorpion, Lizard, and the rest of the Sinister Six and related villians are baffled because they have no idea how someone could've built or manufactured a suit like that on their own (and they can't replicate it).

Eventually they become so airtight that they just start chillin and talking to each other in Spanish and Japanese and they both understand each other and meanwhile the others in the Spiderband Ensemble (Miles and the others) are wracking their brains trying to figure out how they defeated over 20,000 villians on their own over the past year with just the two of them, and how they have 3 successful self published mangas about their Ocs together in 3 different dimensions

[herstoryheaven]

Descendants James Hook x Reader: Once a Princess, Now a Queen

Request: Hi, huge fan of this book and erm can you one about Reader / us being pranked by him and the VKs, causing us to become the queen of Hearts and being mean and stuff, but we meet when we're older?

Reader: Female

Word count: 4674

Average reading time: 17 min

Category: Hurt/Comfort

Warnings: This story contains themes of bullying, emotional distress, and implied violence. If you are sensitive to these topics, please read with care.

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Disclaimer: All events portrayed in my stories are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events is purely coincidental. Any actions or behaviours portrayed by the characters may differ from reality and cannot be connected to any actual person. This work is purely fictional and intended for entertainment purposes only.

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Walking the hallways of Merlin Academy was Y/n Heart, the Princess of Hearts. Her presence in the academy was like a ray of sunshine piercing through a stormy sky. She was the embodiment of grace and kindness, her heart as pure as the white and pink gowns she often wore. Y/n's smile was a beacon of hope, and her gentle nature made her a beloved figure even among those who were destined to become the villains of tomorrow.

She helped wherever she could, tutoring students struggling with difficult spells, mending friendships torn apart by petty rivalries, and even offering a kind word or gesture to those who had wronged her. It was said that the Princess of Hearts never held a grudge, no matter what happened. This made her stand out, especially to one particular student: James Hook.

James, with his cocky grin and a twinkle of mischief in his eyes, was a force to be reckoned with. He is clever, cunning, and always at the center of attention, James had a way of making everyone notice him, whether through charm or a well-placed scheme.

But Y/n was different. She wasn’t drawn to him because of his reputation or his undeniable good looks. She was drawn to the person she believed he could be, the person she saw glimpses of when he wasn’t wearing his egoscentric mask. And as much as James tried to hide it, he was drawn to her too. Her kindness was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out. Why would someone so good, so pure, even glance his way? It intrigued him, fascinated him, and before he knew it, he found himself wanting her attention more than anything.

One afternoon, as the sun cast golden light across the academy grounds, James found himself sitting with his usual group of close friends, Uliana, Morgie, Maleficent, and Hades. They were an unstoppable group, feared by most and respected by the rest.

They were deep in discussion, plotting their next grand scheme, when James’s gaze drifted to Y/n, who was laughing softly as she helped a younger student with their spellcasting. Her laughter was like a melody, and it made something in James’s chest tighten.

“Hook, are you even listening?” Maleficent’s sharp voice cut through his thoughts.

James blinked, refocusing on his friends. “What?”

Hades smirked, his blue eyes gleaming with amusement. “We were talking about pranks, but it seems like your mind is elsewhere, mate. Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about the princess.”

Uliana rolled her eyes. “Of course, he is. He’s been drooling over her for months. It’s pathetic.”

James got annoyed at her comment, but he knew better than to argue with Uliana. Instead, he leaned back, a cocky grin spreading across his face. “I’m not drooling over anyone. I’m just…curious. She’s not like the rest of us... or them.”

“She’s a goody two-shoes.” Morgie scoffed. “Too good for her own good, if you ask me.”

Maleficent’s eyes gleamed with wicked delight. “Maybe it’s time she learned what it’s like to be on the other side of the story. She’s always helping everyone else, let’s see how she handles a little chaos.”

James’s interest piqued at her suggestion. “What do you have in mind?”

Maleficent leaned in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “We make her think she’s ruined a spell. Something big, something that will make everyone blame her. She’s so fragile, so delicate, it’ll throw her off balance. She’ll be so flustered, she won’t know what to do.”

Uliana grinned, feeling satisfied at the idea. “Perfect. And when she’s vulnerable, that’s when you swoop in, James. Play the hero, comfort her, and she’ll be yours.”

James hesitated, a small voice in the back of his mind telling him this was a horrible idea. But the desire to see Y/n flustered, to see her notice him in a way she never had before, was too strong. He wanted to break through that perfect exterior, to see the real girl beneath it. And maybe, just maybe, she’d see the real James Hook in the process.

“All right,” he agreed, his voice firm. “Let’s do it.”

-----

The plan was set in motion the very next day. They waited until Y/n was in the library, her favorite place to study and help others. It was a quiet afternoon, with only a few students milling about.

James and his group hid behind a row of shelves, watching as Y/n worked on her own studies, her face a picture of concentration. Maleficent whispered the spell under her breath, casting an illusion over Y/n’s book. To her, it would appear as though she had just activated a spell that wasn’t supposed to be there, one that would have far reaching consequences.

James watched as Y/n’s eyes widened in horror. The book in front of her began to glow brightly, the pages turning black as smoke began to rise from it. She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she frantically tried to undo whatever she thought she had done.

“No, no, no…” she whispered, her voice trembling with fear. “What have I done?”

The smoke began to fill the library, causing students to panic and flee. In the chaos, Y/n stood frozen, her eyes wide with terror. She tried to close the book, but it wouldn’t budge. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized that she was the cause of this disaster.

James felt a pang of guilt as he watched her. This wasn’t supposed to be this intense. She looked genuinely terrified, and for a moment, he considered calling the whole thing off. But then Uliana nudged him, reminding him of the plan, and he steeled himself.

“Go on, Hook.” she whispered. “Time to be the hero.”

James stepped out from behind the shelves, putting on his most concerned expression. “Y/n! What happened?” he called out, rushing over to her.

Y/n looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. “I-I don’t know.” she stammered, her voice breaking. “I was just reading, and then…this happened. I don’t know what to do, James. I think I’ve ruined everything.”

James’s heart twisted at the sight of her so distraught. This was supposed to be fun, just a harmless prank. But seeing her like this, so broken, made him realize that they had gone too far.

“Hey, it’s okay.” he said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. You didn’t mean to do it, right?”

Y/n shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Of course not! I would never…I just wanted to help.”

James’s mind was conflicted. He opened his mouth to confess, to tell her that it was all a joke, but before he could, Maleficent and the others stepped forward, their faces twisted in mock outrage.

“What did you do, Y/n?” Maleficent demanded, her voice cold and accusing. “Do you realize what you’ve done? You could've hurted everyone here!”

Y/n whinced as if struck, her face paling. “I-I didn’t mean to…” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Uliana joined in, her tone harsh. “You’ve really messed up this time, princess. Everyone’s going to blame you for this. How could you be so careless?”

Y/n looked around, panic setting in as other students began to gather, their whispers growing louder. The room seemed to close in on her, and the weight of their accusations pressed down on her shoulders. Her breathing became rapid, her chest tightening with the overwhelming pressure of it all.

James could see the devastation in her eyes, and it cut him to the core. This was all wrong. He had wanted her attention, but not like this. Not at the cost of her kindness, her joy. But it was too late. The damage was done, and there was no taking it back now.

Finally, the librarian, sensing the commotion, rushed over and quickly dispelled the illusion with a flick of her hand. The smoke vanished, and the book returned to its normal state, as if nothing had ever happened. But the tension in the room remained, and the looks of disappointment and suspicion from the other students lingered in the air.

Y/n stared at the book, her hands trembling. “It was… it wasn’t real?” she whispered, her voice thick with confusion and betrayal.

James took a step forward, his heart in his throat. “Y/n, I—”

But she didn’t wait to hear his explanation. With a choked sob, she turned and fled from the library, leaving James standing there with the bitter taste of regret on his tongue.

The other students slowly began to take their leave, casting wary glances at James and the other VKs as they did. The prank had not gone as planned, at least not for him. He could still hear Y/n’s sobs echo.

-----

Y/n ran through the hallways, her thoughts a whirlwind of confusion, pain, and betrayal. She could barely breathe, her mind racing with questions that had no answers. Why would they do this? How could they think this was funny? Her heart ached, but beneath that pain, something darker began to stir. Something that had been tucked far away within her until now.

She fled to her dorm, slamming the door behind her, the sound echoing through the empty halls. The room was dark, only a few candles flickering to life as she entered. She collapsed onto her bed, her sobs muffled by the pillows. But as the tears subsided, a cold clarity took their place.

They had done this to her. They had humiliated her, turned her kindness into a weapon against her. And why? For what? A laugh? A fleeting moment of power?

Slowly, Y/n sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes. As she looked into the mirror across the room, she barely recognized the girl staring back at her. There was no more kindness in those eyes, no more warmth. Only cold, hard determination.

She stood, crossing the room with newfound purpose. Her reflection shifted as she approached the mirror, the girl she once was fading away to reveal something new. Something stronger.

“Love ain't it.” she whispered to herself, her voice steady and devoid of the fear that had gripped her earlier, “I’ll show them what real power is.”

Y/n opened a drawer in her vanity, pulling out a deck of cards that had been passed down through her family for generations. The cards were old, their edges worn, but they held a power that had been waiting to be awakened. She shuffled them expertly, feeling the magic pulsing through them, ready to be unleashed.

She drew the Queen of Hearts, holding the card up to the light. The queen on the card stared back at her, regal and commanding, her eyes burning with a ruthless fire. Y/n smiled, a smile that held no warmth, only the promise of revenge.

“They will learn.” she murmured, tracing the edge of the card with her finger. “They will all learn what it means to cross me.”

The next morning, Y/n walked into the school with her head held high. The whispers started as soon as she entered, but she didn’t flinch. She didn’t falter. Instead, she welcomed them, her heart hardened by the betrayal she had suffered.

James and the others watched her approach, unease settling in their stomachs. There was something different about her, something that made even the boldest of them hesitate.

“Y/n,” James began, stepping forward, his voice laced with guilt and hesitation, “about yesterday—”

“Save it.” Y/n interrupted, her voice cold and sharp. She looked at him, her gaze piercing through him as if she could see into the very depths of his soul. “I know what you did, James. All of you.”

James opened his mouth to protest, but the words died in his throat when he saw the look in her eyes. This wasn’t the Y/n he had known. This was someone else entirely, someone he had helped create.

“You wanted to see me break?” she continued, her tone dripping with disdain. “Well, congratulations. But I won’t be broken again. You’ll wish you had never laid eyes on me, Hook.”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving James and the others standing there, stunned and speechless. They had set out to play a cruel game, but they had awakened something far more dangerous than they could have ever anticipated.

As Y/n walked away, the students parted for her, their eyes wide with a mix of fear and awe. The Queen of Hearts was born that day, not from blood, but from betrayal, and she would not stop until she had claimed her throne.

-----

During the following days, Y/n’s transformation into the ruthless Queen of Hearts became evident to everyone around her. The once gentle, compassionate girl who had been the heart of the school was gone, replaced by a figure of authority and fear. She moved with purpose, her every action calculated, her words sharp and decisive. She was no longer the one seeking approval or friendship. Now she commanded respect and loyalty, or else.

The first to feel the sting of her new persona was Maleficent. She had enjoyed manipulating others, reveling in the chaos she created. But now, Y/n had taken control, and she didn’t tolerate any challenges to her newfound authority.

It began with small things. A snide remark from Maleficent was met with a cold glare from Y/n, and suddenly, Maleficent found herself unable to speak, her voice trapped by a spell Y/n had cast with just a flick of her fingers. The rest of the group watched in shock as Y/n simply turned her back on Maleficent, leaving her to struggle in silence until she finally managed to break the spell hours later. By then, the message was clear: Y/n was in charge now.

Next, she turned her attention to Uliana, the leader, who had been so eager to see her fall. Y/n began to dismantle Uliana’s influence within the school, spreading rumors that twisted and distorted the truth, just as they had done to her. It didn’t take long for people to distance themselves from Uliana, fearful of being caught in Y/n’s crossfire. Uliana, once the most feared villain in school, found herself increasingly isolated and powerless.

Even James, who she used to have a secret crush on, was not spared from Y/n’s wrath. She knew how to play with his emotions, manipulating him with a cruel precision that left him torn between guilt and his old feelings for her. She dangled forgiveness in front of him like a treasure, only to snatch it away when he reached for it. It wasn’t long before he was a shell of the confident boy he had once been, reduced to a nervous wreck who jumped at his own shadow.

But Y/n’s power extended beyond just her former tormentors. She began to influence the entire school, her reputation growing with each calculated move she made. Those who had once looked down on her now feared her, and those who had been her friends found themselves questioning whether they even knew her anymore. She was no longer just another student, she was a force to be reckoned with.

One afternoon, as she walked through the halls, she overheard a group of students whispering about her. Their words, filled with fear and awe, brought a small smile to her lips. But when she caught sight of a younger student, a girl who had always looked up to her, she paused.

The girl stared at her with wide, frightened eyes, clutching her books tightly to her chest. Y/n felt a pang of something deep within her, regret perhaps? Or was it just a reminder of the person she used to be? The girl’s gaze was filled with admiration and fear, as if she couldn’t decide whether Y/n was a hero or a villain.

“Y/n?” the girl asked hesitantly, her voice trembling. “Is it true? Are you really the Queen of Hearts now?”

Y/n looked down at her, her expression unreadable. For a moment, the cold mask she had worn so well faltered. She saw a glimpse of her former self in the girl, a reminder of the kindness she had once believed in. But that kindness had been shattered, replaced by something darker and far more powerful.

“Yes.” Y/n finally replied, her voice steady and unwavering. “I am the Queen of Hearts. And fear is more important if I'm gonna rule for centuries.”

The girl nodded quickly, backing away before turning and fleeing down the hall. Y/n watched her go, the smile slipping from her face as she turned and continued on her way. The title of Queen of Hearts suited her, but it came with a price, one she was willing to pay, even if it meant losing the last bit of who she used to be.

That night, Y/n returned to her dorm, the weight of her decisions pressing down on her. She stood before the mirror, staring at the reflection that no longer felt like her own. The Queen of Hearts stared back at her, powerful and determent, but there was a hollowness in her eyes that she couldn’t ignore.

Was this what she truly wanted? Was this the path she was destined to walk? The power she had gained was intoxicating, but it came at the cost of everything she had once held dear. She had become the very thing she had feared most, a ruler of hearts, but with none left to rule her own.

As she turned away from the mirror, Y/n knew there was no going back. She had chosen this path, and now she would walk it to the end, wherever it might lead. The Queen of Hearts had been born, and she would reign with an iron fist, even if it meant ruling over an kingdom that feared her name.

-----

Years had passed, and the memory of that fateful day at Merlin Academy continued to haunt James like a shadow he could never escape. No matter how many treasures he plundered or victories he claimed, the regret was weighing him down, a constant reminder of the cruel prank that had shattered the heart of the one person he’d ever truly cared about.

Y/n Heart, the girl with a heart so pure that it radiated warmth, kindness, and hope, had been transformed into the ruthless Queen of Hearts. The vibrant pinks and whites that once symbolized her gentle spirit had darkened into the harsh reds and blacks of her unforgiving new persona. She had become a ruler feared by all, a queen with a heart as cold as ice. And James knew it was all his fault.

But in the years that followed, James had changed too. He had grown into the most incredible pirate, a captain known for his sword skills across the seas. Yet, all the power and fame in the world couldn’t fill the void that Y/n had left behind. He had tried to move on, but the regret always lingered, a wound that refused to heal. He had never found the courage to apologize, fearing that it was too late, that she was lost to him forever.

Until now.

A grand event was being held at Merlin Academy, a reunion of sorts, bringing together old students and friends. James knew she would be there. It was the perfect opportunity to finally face her, to tell her the truth, and to beg for her forgiveness if need be. He couldn’t run from his past any longer.

The day of the event, the academy was alive with music and laughter, old memories resurfacing as former students greeted one another with smiles and stories. But James’s heart was heavy with the weight of what he needed to do.

When he saw her standing across the grand hall, she was more beautiful than he remembered, though she wore her icy demeanor like armor. The red and black dress she worn only accentuated the coldness in her eyes, but James could still see the girl he once knew underneath it all.

Summoning every ounce of courage he had, James approached her, each step echoing with the past he wished he could forget. He could feel the eyes of others on him, whispers of surprise and curiosity following in his wake, but he ignored them. His focus was entirely on her.

“Princess.” he greeted softly, using the name he had called her so many times before, hoping it might stir some of the old feelings between them.

Y/n’s eyes narrowed at the sound of his voice, her expression hardening. “I’m no longer a princess, James.” she replied, her voice as cold as winter. “That girl died a long time ago.”

James swallowed hard, the guilt tightening in his chest. “Lass… Y/n, please, hear me out.”

She tilted her head slightly, a dark smile curving her lips. “You have a lot of nerve, Hook, approaching me after all this time. What could you possibly have to say that would interest me?”

James felt the sting of her words, but he wasn’t disheartend. He had come too far to back down now. “I know.” he admitted, his voice trembling slightly. “I know I don’t deserve it, but please, just listen. I was a fool, Y/n. I did something cruel because I didn’t know how to tell you how I felt. I never wanted to hurt you, I never wanted things to go as far as they did. I just… I just wanted you to notice me.”

Her eyes, colder than ever, locked onto his with a mixture of bitterness and sadness. “You did more than make me notice, James. You made sure I would never forget.”

James felt a pang in his chest, the weight of his actions pressing down on him. “I’m sorry. Truly, I am. I’ve spent years regretting what I did, wishing I could take it back. I never wanted you to become someone else because of me.”

Y/n’s gaze intensified, the memories of that day rushing back with a force she couldn’t ignore. Her hand moved almost instinctively to the hilt of the jeweled dagger at her side. The room seemed to grow colder as she stepped closer to him, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “And what makes you think I won’t cut off your head right now? Just like the many others who have dared to wrong me.”

James flinched at the venom in her words, his heart racing. He knew she wasn’t bluffing, she had the power and the will to carry out that threat. But he also knew that beneath the anger and the pain, there was still a part of her that remembered who she used to be.

“Because.” he said softly, his eyes never leaving hers, “I know that the girl I fell in love with is still in there, somewhere. And I’m not afraid to face her wrath if it means I can earn her forgiveness.”

Her grip on the dagger tightened, and for a terrifying moment, James thought she might actually go through with it. But then something flickered in her eyes, a hesitation, a doubt. He could feel the tension between them, thick as the silence that followed, but he didn’t move. He wouldn’t run. Not this time.

Y/n’s breath caught in her throat as she stared at him. His words had struck a chord, one she had buried deep beneath layers of ice. The part of her that had once loved him. The part that still, despite everything, longed for him, was fighting to break free.

“James.” she whispered, her voice trembling with the weight of her conflicting emotions. “You don’t know what I’ve become. I’m not the girl you knew. I’m not the girl you might have loved.”

James dared to step closer, his hand reaching up to gently touch her cheek. “Then let me love the woman you’ve become.” he whispered, his voice filled with a tenderness that caught her off guard.

His touch was warm, a stark contrast to the cold fury she had surrounded herself with for so long. Y/n felt herself trembling, her resolve cracking under the weight of his gentle caress. She wanted to pull away, to push him out of her life forever, but she couldn’t. The warmth of his hand on her cheek, the sincerity in his eyes, the soft, pleading tone in his voice, it was all too much.

“I’ve missed you.” he murmured, his lips brushing against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. “I’ve missed the way you laugh, the way you light up a room, the way you made me feel like I could be better. I’ve missed you, Y/n. Please, let me in. Let me try to fix what I broke.”

The ice around her heart was strong, but it wasn’t unbreakable. Slowly, her grip on the dagger loosened, and she let it fall to the floor with a soft clatter. She closed her eyes, leaning into his touch, letting the warmth of his hand chase away the cold that had settled in her soul for so many years.

“James.” she whispered again, her voice barely audible, “I’ve wanted to hate you for so long. I’ve tried, but… I can’t. I don’t want to.”

“You don’t have to.” he whispered back, his lips brushing against her forehead. “You don’t have to be the Queen of Hearts anymore.”

Y/n opened her eyes, looking up at him with tears that she had refused to shed for years. “But I don’t know how to be anything else.”

“You don’t have to do it alone.” James said softly, his thumb gently wiping away a tear as it slipped down her cheek. “We can figure it out together. You and me, just like it was supposed to be.”

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Y/n allowed herself to hope. She allowed herself to believe that maybe, just maybe, there was a way out of the darkness she had surrounded herself with. And in that moment, as James wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace, she let herself believe that love, real true love, might just be enough to melt the ice around her heart.

As they stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, the harsh reds and blacks of her dress began to soften, the colors shifting ever so slightly. It was a small change, barely noticeable, but it was enough. It was a start.

“James.” she whispered, her voice trembling with the weight of her emotions. “I don’t want to be the Queen of Hearts anymore.”

“You don’t have to be.” he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. “Be the queen of my heart instead.”

Y/n looked into his eyes, searching for any trace of deceit, but all she found was the boy she had once loved, now a man willing to make amends. Slowly, she nodded, allowing herself to trust him one last time.

And as James leaned in to kiss her, capturing her lips with his own, Y/n felt the last remnants of the ice around her heart begin to melt away. The softened red and black now fully dissapearing into pink and white. The kiss was long overdue, filled with years of regret, longing, and hope. A kiss that spoke of second chances and the possibility of a future where they could both be happy.

When they finally pulled apart, Y/n looked at him, her eyes now filled with warmth and the glimmer of hope. “I’ve missed you.” she admitted softly.

“And I’ve missed you, love.” James replied, his smile full of genuine affection and relief.

As they stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, they knew that the past was behind them. They had both changed, both grown, but the love they once shared was still there, stronger than ever. Together, they walked away from the pain of the past.

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Copyright: All stories contained herein are the intellectual property of the author. Unauthorized copying, reproduction, or distribution of these stories, in whole or in part, without explicit written permission from the author, is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action. Respect the creator's rights and creativity. For permissions or inquiries, please contact: herstoryheaven@gmail.com.

Request Guidelines: When submitting a request, please ensure that your request does not contain any explicit sexual content or graphic depictions, and avoid any form of extreme violence or graphic descriptions of violent acts. I appreciate your understanding and cooperation in maintaining a respectful and inclusive environment for all readers. If you're unsure about your request or want to request about someone I haven't written about yet, feel free to ask me anytime.

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Requested by: @GlitchyDaRat

[kuroki---kaze]

Windaria's Unlimited :: Wielder of the Golden Gun

⋆୨𖤓୧⋆ The wielder of the Infernal Father's gun, would be the one who places his heart within this beast and survives. A grand champion that would rise above the rest to take his seat as War God of Windaria, known only through legend as Asher.

As time passed, the Windarian people came to find that one such soul - the black blood - Fekete Szél - was Asher incarnate. With his heart placed within the gun, he was accepted as it's chosen wielder by the God within, the Infernal Father - Bahamut. The gun itself is grafted into Kaze's body by way of his right arm, that gets reconstructed when the Magun is thawed. As long as the vial that contains his heart remains undamaged, Kaze himself can never die. He is effectively immortal as the only beings that can damage the vial are one White Cloud, his Unlimited counterpart and Chaos itself.

This gun grants it's wielder the ability to access the Soil Spiral in a way that normal Soil Sages cannot. It gives it's commander the ability to combine varying colors of Soil Bullets to summon a variable army of Soil Spirits.

Pictured: Phoenix, Typhoon, Ixion, Shiva, Atmos, Meteor Master, Ifrit, Odin (there's more.)

A Soil Spirit's power is generally unmatched in most cases and delivers a devastated blow to whatever foe unleashes them on.

You can see Kaze summon here:

In order to summon a spirit, Kaze uses different combinations of colors of Soil and Soil Poetry by way of describing the Soil being used.

(Please remember Soil is not dirt but instead it is the crystallization of a passed on Soul. Every Soul in the Universe is either comprised of one of two elemental building blocks and they are Soil and Mist. Most things possess a Soul of Soil therefore their soul carries that color hue.)

But the ability to call forth an army of Soil Spirits is not the only thing the Magun is capable of. Kaze is a skilled Soil Sage and as such can control powerful magics. He can command Soil to do many things but one of the other abilities the Magun possesses is spellcasting.

Different color combinations will result in a Soil Spirit, but what if he were to use the same. For example, we'll use Fire Red.

If Kaze were to fire a single Fire Red from the Magun it would cast a spell.

1 Fire Red = Fire

2 Fire Red = Fira

3 Fire Red = Firaga

It works like this for most spells in the terms of general spellcasting. The more of the same type of Soil he uses, the stronger the spell. Kaze can fast cast with the Magun and fire off as many spells as he has the ammo for. Further more, being as connected to the Soil Spiral as he is, he can manifest bullets into form whenever he needs them.

This is why Windarian Religion dictated that whoever was accepted by the Infernal Father's Golden Gun would become a War God. Just as Kumo can use the Maken telepathically because of his connection to it, Kaze can manifest ammunition for the Magun at will and fast cast with it as long as he has the right combination and he doesn't over tax his heart.

Because just like the the Maken is Kumo's soul, the Magun is Kaze's heart. Both weapons are the Unlimited's very lives and as long as they remain undamaged they are nigh unstoppable forces of nature.

[bastardsunlight]

There is so much blood. The copper weight of it is almost physical in the air, the spattering of red outdone only by the hellfire burn of her eyes through the smoke.

Were appearances to be believed, she is in a rough way; her armor is clawed and scraped here and there and some lucky and colossal blow has cracked the grinning bone-mask still guarding her face. She has pushed back the goggles; one lens is compromised and she must be able to see clearly to continue this vicious dance with what remains of Tricell's finest.

She is a demon of war, wreathed in gunsmoke and smelling of hot lead and burnt carbon, her neutron-star density immovable even as the forces which dare to oppose Revenant set upon her. Man or BOW, it does not matter -- all are hurled aside, off the catwalk along which she inexorably advances toward her objective, to the testing floor twenty feet below where her brothers and sisters will finish them. Somewhere, down in the chaos, the steady thundering song of Sixteen's modified rifle tells her the BOWs are still coming. Coming and falling.

The Hyena forces the heavy doors of the control room open with brute strength. There is no hesitation, not even an inkling of consideration for self-preservation as its guards converge upon her, but it is for naught. She is blinding speed and impossible might and it is moments before the last man's viscera depart his body on white, diamond-hard claws honed razor-sharp for the occasion. Across the room, Leblanc's hand hovers over a dial -- one of many she has used to spring this or that subject from containment and slow Revenant's advance -- but Hawker pays her no mind. She has never been so full of hate as when, after thirteen years, she lays eyes upon a man who has far less of a right to be alive than she.

What words are there for this, for the meeting of such bitter enemies? What has Albert Wesker and his ilk not taken from Sarah Hawker, that she should grant him even the slightest pause? What cutting remark or gloating taunt is there that cannot wait until his dying gasps beneath her claws? None -- which is precisely how many moments she delays before she is across that room in a blink, and in her fury, it is as if Uroboros might, this time, be loosed from Apex's restraint and breach her own imitation of humanity, because along with the hate-glow in her eyes there is something like hunger, and perhaps in that moment only, the two understand each other perfectly:

I WILL SHOW YOU GODHOOD.

He can see it in her eyes the moment she enters the control room—that fire she always had, but burning blue-white with unadulterated hatred and righteous fury. He had been seated, as if enjoying a show through the floor-to ceiling, reinforced plate glass window which looked out over the testing floor where his forces—and some of hers—are being fed into a meat grinder of their own making. His chair has swiveled away from that show to this one and as she rushes him, he moves in the blink of an eye to meet her. There is no grimace of rage on his face, but a wide, elated smile.

“I was wondering when you would attempt your apotheosis, Twenty-one!”

Down below, the hammer blow of a pair of Ivan-class Tyrants has fallen hard upon Revenant. They all knew what they were signing up for, and they accept it now, but the pair of agents in charge of the two halves of the squad Hyena has brought with them are not willing to sacrifice anyone without just cause.

Sandman’s team has the left side and includes Sixteen. On the right side of the testing floor—the “Killing Floor”, Sixteen has informed them it had sometimes been called—is Chris Redfield.

They coordinate their strikes as best they can, but the two Ivans are nigh-unstoppable. Once they remove their limiters, Chris isn’t sure how much longer he and his men can last. But he doesn’t have time to worry about that. Worry is a distraction. Right now, they’ve got business to attend. He feels his gaze stray upward, to the control room where he knows… he knows his leader is engaging the source of all their agony. Get ‘im, he whispers, for all of us… For Leon.

[positivlyfocused]

Why Positivity Matters So Much In Today’s World. Especially Now.

It’s important at this time in society’s unfolding, to hold a gentle, nonchalant even, intention about what we, as individuals, want — what we want in a society, what we want in our countries, what we want from leaders.

Maybe you’ve noticed a rising tide of nationalism and authoritarianism worldwide. A certain timing is happening in which we are subjecting ourselves to greater levels of “contrast”. People not tuned into the Positively Focused Way would call this contrast “a lot of bad shit happening”. 

And yet, all this contrast is good. It prompts us to create futures in the probable future reality-scape containing all that we want and none of what we don’t.

For such futures to become our now, however, we must line up with them. Otherwise, those ideal futures remain in the future probable reality-scape, awaiting points of consciousness that will allow it into their reality. This explains why “improvement” generally takes so long.

Why positive change takes so long

Most people can identify what they want. But they’re more practiced at knowing what they don’t want. In knowing what they don’t want, they’ll also identify what they do want, even if they’re not aware of it.

But most people will keep their attention on what they don’t want. Doing that, they draw more of that — what they don’t want –– into their experience. Then they look at the newest iteration, and amplify more that they don’t want it, which then creates even more unwanted.

In other words, by keeping their attention on what they don’t want, they align with and allow or create more of that in the probable future reality-scape, which then, because they’re aligned with that through their attention, becomes more of their current reality.

Nearly everyone does this. 

Meanwhile, a lot of “good” or “wanted” remains in nonphysical waiting for us. Usually all that “good” shows up. But often that’s long after those who put it those things in nonphysical pass away.

^^Deja Vu all over again. It happened in 2020…it’s happening again this year. (Photo by Maria Thalassinou on Unsplash)

One person can change the tide

Take today’s politics for example. A lot of people are focusing on what they don’t want. They don’t want senile, old Joe running, for example. Or people don’t want Trump, or any republican, as president.

The problem with focusing on those unwanted things is exactly as I said above: doing so creates probable future realities wherein those things do happen. Again, keeping attention on the unwanted outcome, those doing that put more of that in the probably future reality-scape. Continued attention increases the probability that those unwanted outcomes will become their reality. They become our reality too. Especially if we’re not purposeful in our own focus.

But it only takes one person doing it differently to change the tide. Which is why I’m offering this petition. I’m one of those people. I’m focused on allowing my desire, purposefully. I invite everyone reading this to do the same.

One of my clients who is learning what you’re reading asked what happens if two people want opposite things. Abraham answered this before. Here’s what they said:

^^How the universe delivers on all desires. Even those seemingly in conflict.

Everyone gets what they want…eventually

I reflected the same wisdom. Here’s what I said in that text conversation. It’s a long series so bear with that:

In essence, everyone gets what they want. But the one with the strongest positive momentum prevails in the details. And the more one aligns with that strong, fast moving energy, the more powerfully such a person becomes.

We’ve seen authoritarian forces held at bay across the world. They’re making some strides, but they cannot prevail against the positive energy at our disposal. One person is all it takes. And two, lined up together, are unstoppable. Abraham has also spoken about this:

As we enter national elections in the US, I invite my fellow Americans to align with an outcome best serving us all. That doesn’t mean Biden keeping the White House. Just because we’re presented with only two options, that doesn’t limit what’s possible. What we believe sets the limits. 

So what do you believe?

I believe anything is possible. I KNOW this. And so I intend a positive outcome in this years’ elections. One in which progressives keep the seat.

Postscript

Hours after writing the first draft of this post, Joe Biden, while infected with COVID, dropped out of the race. He’s endorsed Kamala Harris. The Universe acts in ways mysterious only to those who don’t understand how it works. I know how it works, so it’s not mysterious at all.

[dankusner]

‘When the Clock Broke’ traces the origins of our current political mess

Third-party candidate Ross Perot speaks during a 1992 news conference in Annapolis, Maryland.

Perot first ran for president in 1992 and is one of the political figures featured in “When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s” by John Ganz. I’m confident I’m not the only person looking at this November’s presidential election through parted fingers, feeling powerless to stop what appears to be an unstoppable horror.

The U.S. political system has descended into a kind of madness and dysfunction.

Worries about crime, immigration, and economic inequality and the seeming inability of our political leaders to address these problems abound.

Migrants are demagogued as an invading force.

White supremacists are seen as a viable political constituency.

Cities are declared to be unlivable cesspools of crime.

Misinformation and hate flow freely.

It’s more than sort of terrifying, to me at least.

A tremendously interesting, highly entertaining new book argues that the roots of our present-day crack-up can be found in an earlier time, and that perhaps the forces that were almost unleashed then cannot be contained now.

The book is “When the Clock Broke: Con Men, Conspiracists, and How America Cracked Up in the Early 1990s” by John Ganz.

“When the Clock Broke” is a masterful yoking together of historiography, political science, sociological analysis, cultural criticism, and political theory, rendered in the always lively and engaging style of the author, who is most known for his independent newsletter, “Unpopular Front.”

As the subtitle suggests, the book is a tapestry of major, minor and even forgotten figures in the political landscape of the post-Reagan years, and how these figures contributed ingredients to what has become a truly toxic stew.

The book starts with David Duke, the neo-Nazi and former Klansman who was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives before making failed runs for governor, senator and then president.

An overt white supremacist, Duke was thwarted by a political establishment that rallied against him, but as Ganz notes, in each of his state-level races, Duke achieved a majority of the white vote thanks to voters who approved of his racial demagoguery.

Ganz segues to Pat Buchanan, who looked at the success of David Duke and wondered if Duke’s message would go over better in a Washington-ready package like him.

Buchanan’s insurgent challenge to incumbent George H.W. Bush, which focused on repelling an “invasion” at the border, threw a brief scare into the sitting president.

Out of these origins, Ganz traces the additional forces that shaped the political landscape, voter “rage” that made room for a Ross Perot candidacy in 1992 that had the Texan leading in the polls during the summer before the public got to know him and didn’t like what they saw.

Another chapter looks at the rise of political talk radio, particularly Rush Limbaugh, and the effect of relentless partisan propaganda and demonization of the media on public opinion.

Each chapter shows attacks on our various institutions — political parties, governments, media, schools — that leave them badly battered.

As a government fails to fulfill the needs of people, other forces fill the gap, preying on alienation for power and profit.

In New York City, the mob of John Gotti and the mayorship of Rudy Giuliani are two sides of the same coin.

Subsequent events have shown they may actually occupy the same face.

The subtext of Ganz’s narrative and analysis is the creation of a world where a Trump figure not only achieves power, but is able to co-opt institutions to his own venial ends, as a kind of mobster who understands how to pull the raw levers of power.

The way Ganz braids these stories makes not just a convincing case, but an engaging, and dare I say entertaining one.

And also, maybe a little bit reassuring one. We’ve been here before, and managed to stumble forward.

Perhaps this can happen again.

[thorntonkrell-blog-blog]

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times

In a world where silence speaks louder than words, a peaceful afternoon descends into an eerie calm. Across the nation, in unsuspecting households, an invisible line is unintentionally breached. Unagreed upon boundaries are shattered, and from the depths of familiarity contempt emerges as an irresistible force that cannot be contained.

[Scene: Suburban neighborhood, peaceful streets]

Families go about their daily lives, unaware of the impending doom lurking just beyond the facade of normalcy. They have lunch. They text. They visit friends.

[Scene: Living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms]

As the sun dips below the horizon, shadows take on a life of their own. Dismissive whispers slither through the approaching darkness, venting a sinister replay of discontent. The harbinger of malevolence, spawned by the familiarity that breeds contempt, disillusion, and the relentless march of inevitability, stretches its undead tendrils across the unsuspecting homes.

Ovid calls Julia on her cell phone. She was supposed to be back in an hour. That was two hours ago. She answers the call. She'll be home in five minutes. This is happening all over the world.

[Scene: A family dinner, tension building]

The dinner table, once a place of warmth and connection, transforms into a battleground. Resentments, long-buried but never forgotten, rise from the depths like the undead hungry for the living. Words form like specters, tangible and cutting through the air. Each syllable an invitation to the macabre dance of discord, akin to the groans of the undead rising.

[Scene: Hallways, doors creaking open]

Doors, once closed to the world, swing open with an otherworldly force. The resentments, now tangible entities, move like a horde, infecting every corner, leaving a trail of discord and disillusion in their wake. Invisible audiences cheer and boo. Another dinner, another evening, another weekend torn apart by the weight of unspoken grievances, like survivors struggling in the wake of a zombie apocalypse.

[Scene: A chilling voiceover]

"Every family has secrets, but some resentments refuse to stay buried. In this house, the familiar turns frightening, and the bonds that once held them together become chains of despair. Can they escape the clutches of their own animosity, or will the recurring resentments, fueled by familiarity, disillusion, and the unstoppable force of inevitability, consume them like a relentless horde of the undead?"

[Scene: Intense music, escalating tension]

Prepare for a tale of familial horror, where the true monsters are not from the shadows but within. This fall, brace yourself for a descent into the depths of familial darkness. The recurring resentments, born from familiarity, disillusion, and the unstoppable march of inevitability, are back, and this time, they're hungry for more than just words. They demand action.

[Scene: Possible outcomes]

Will they confront their undead demons and emerge stronger, or will they succumb to the darkness within, becoming mere echoes of their former selves? Can the family find a way to break the cycle of resentment, or are they doomed to be forever haunted by their own zombie-like shadows? As the night unfolds, the choices made will determine their fate in this undead dance of despair.

[Scene: A door slams shut, the screen fades to black]

Coming soon to a home near you. Will you survive the night? The outcome awaits, lurking in the shadows of your own reflections, like a survivor navigating the undead-infested night.

[kayla1993-world]

England out to stop World Cup's 'irresistible force' Mbappé

England’s players have been asked one question on repeat as they prepare to face France in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday. How do you stop Kylian Mbappé? Hardly surprising, given Mbappé is the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals and is widely considered the man to succeed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as soccer’s biggest stars. "I’m sure England will have prepared to face Kylian," France coach Didier Deschamps said at a news conference Friday. "But Kylian is in the position to make a difference. Kylian is Kylian, and he always will be." There is no sense of France trying to manage expectations of its star player, even as the hype surrounding him grows with each stellar performance in Qatar. He has already scored one more goal than the four he managed as his country won the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In the round of 16, he struck twice as the defending champions beat Poland 3-1, with two thunderous shots past goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. "He cannot be compared to other players," said teammate Dayot Upamecano. "We all believe in Kylian," added Youssouf Fofana. Mbappé is being depicted as an unstoppable force in Qatar, something England defender Kyle Walker pushed back against this week. "It's good for [Walker] if he can stop Kylian Mbappé," Fofana added. "But 19 other teams in Ligue 1 have been waiting for the solution. The truth will come from the pitch." Walker will have the job of trying to limit the damage Mbappé can inflict on England’s defense at Al Bayt Stadium. But rather than merely trying to contain France’s biggest threat, discussion this week has been about how bold Three Lions coach Gareth Southgate is prepared to be in response. England reached the semifinals in 2018 and the final of last year’s European Championships. On both occasions, Southgate was criticized for his cautious approach, even though England only lost in a penalty shootout to Italy at the Euros. "I very much like Gareth. If I understand correctly, not everyone appreciates him so much in his own country," noted Deschamps. England lost 2-1 to Croatia four years ago, and the shootout loss to Italy came after a 1-1 draw at Wembley. England had taken the lead in both matches, and Southgate was accused of adopting defensive tactics to try to protect the lead. His team has played with more freedom at this World Cup, with a more attacking style leading to 12 goals in four games to tie Portugal as the leading scorers. Southgate has opted to play with a back four in the tournament so far but could switch to a five-man defense to try to cope with Mbappé. "No one objected to us playing five games before the Euros," said Walker. "I think it’s a bit harsh to judge him on what we’ve done previously. I think at this tournament we have been playing good attacking football and scoring a lot of goals." After coming close in its last two major tournaments, Walker believes England is ready to win this time around. Beating France, he says, would be evidence of that. "It’s a great opportunity to stamp it down and say that we are a good team and we can achieve great things, and give us the belief that we can win this," he said. "I’m not saying we don’t believe, but beating such a big team in a quarter-final--they’re the reigning world champions--will give us a lot of confidence rather than arrogance."

[pyreo]

Loreposting about Abaddon

Abaddon doesn’t get a lot of attention. As a deposed god he doesn’t seem relevant to the Guild Wars timeline after Nightfall. But I keep thinking about him because Abaddon is probably the most influential character Tyria ever had.

Let’s just go over where he appears in-game if you start off in GW2. Everyone knows the six human gods. They’re in statues, temples, personal shrines everywhere. The base game story makes you detour through a sunken temple dedicated to Abaddon, while the Orrian temples to the other five gods are still intact on the surface. This is not by chance. It’s also nudging you to notice that there are no Orrian temples to Kormir, because she replaced Abaddon only two centuries ago. This is reflected again later on in Siren’s Landing on the other side of Orr, where the Five, and Abaddon, each have a personal reliquary, and Abaddon’s is central, connected to all the others, and still intact.

Building on that refresher on human divinity, in Path of Fire you visit the actual place Abaddon was defeated by the other Five gods and pushed into a side dimension to keep him out of the world.

And when you visit the archives of the Durmand Priory, they have an imposing Abaddon statue towering over the stairs. Other than being reflected in three major environments, he doesn’t have a role in the plot. BUT.

As Kormir explains to you, the weakness of the human gods is that their excess of power keeps fucking up the world. The Desolation, a map that covers only a part of the sulfur desert, is completely uninhabitable because Abaddon was destroyed there. This happened because Abaddon, who was actually the most powerful of the Six and the leader of the group, wanted humans to share in the gift of magic. He was the god of knowledge, after all. This proved disastrous and the other gods reduced and compartmentalised the magic, and Abaddon went on a whole attempt to overthrow them and become one, single god of all.

The destruction of Abaddon’s temples and relics was intentional. He was wiped from memory. The pantheon was called The Five until Nightfall, wherein the existence of Abaddon was revealed as he tried to drag himself back into the mortal plane. As a god his spheres of power were water and knowledge. Erasing knowledge of him was what made him powerless. (Interestingly, the Priory’s special collections contains the Scroll of the Five True Gods, an ancient record of what the human gods knew about the Elder Dragons, but one dragon is missing - the water dragon, who like Abaddon, has a damaged and erased history. The six Elder Dragons and six human gods have many respective connections.)

When he lived, Abaddon’s followers were the Margonites, who believed him the only real god and worshipped him exclusively, unlike other humans who revere all the Six together. They were rewarded with transformation into etheral beings with an extremely long lifespan, and were imprisoned in Abaddon’s Realm, the Realm of Torment, when he was forced out of Tyria. As the god of knowledge he had a realm to himself, and when fallen, his sphere inversed. Knowledge became madness, the theme his realm embodies. Temples were sunk, records destroyed, because to remove all knowledge of the god of knowledge made him powerless.

I can’t remember where, but it’s implied that by Nightfall comes around a thousand years after his banishment, Abaddon is finally able to claw his way back into Tyria because people are starting to remember him. There’s one side quest that sticks out in my memory called The Search for Enlightenment about a scholar stealing scriptures from an Elonian library which leads to a massive raid by Margonites. The scholar was ‘babbling’ about a forgotten god. Proximity to knowledge about Abaddon seems to bestow insanity, the connection between Abaddon in his inverted realm and his hold over anyone who knows he exists. Though the Five Gods tried, they didn’t erase everything (hell, Trahearne and Sayeh al' Rajihd give you a guided tour of an Abaddon temple). Over a thousand years, relics popped up and people began to remember The Five was once The Six. As they did his influence returned until he was able to attempt to merge the Realm of Torment with Tyria and become a single, all powerful god in the absence of the others.

But wait how does that make a forgotten god the most influential character in both games?

Well.

Guild Wars lore is nothing if not completely linked together. Every single thing has cause and effect, every event is a domino. The story is consistent from Prophecies to this day. So let’s start with the first GW1 chapter, Prophecies.

It all starts at the Citadel of Flame.

It was built into the volcano Hrangmer. The charr had been displaced, pushed out of Ascalon by the successful expansion of humankind. 450 years before GW2 the Flame Legion found this volcano and, inside, Titans. You know how Mordremoth’s minions are Mordrem, Zhaitan’s minions are Risen, etc? Titans are Abaddon minions, left behind and hidden after his defeat. They change their appearance to suit their environment. In a jungle they’re vegetative, in mountains they’re made of ice, in the Realm of Torment they’re twisted constructs of flesh, in a volcano, they’re fire. The Flame Legion brings the Titans back to the charr, charr worship them, and in exchange, get immense fire powers. Flame Legion completely takes over charr society and makes it a theistic, misogynist nightmare with the Shamans at the top.

Abaddon has just restructured charr society.

Using their overpowered fire magic indirectly from a human god, charr, ironically, rally against the humans and nuke Ascalon to pieces. The few survivors escape to Kryta. Charr are now pretty much unstoppable and invade all the way to Orr. Vizier Khilbron used a powerful stolen scroll to repel the charr with magic, and it completely destroys Orr, collapsing the island into the ocean.

Abaddon has just wiped out two nations of the humans who used to worship him, with Orr as the final goal - to tear down the resplendent city of the Gods who betrayed him. This is referenced, if you know what you’re looking for, in GW2. You can scale the Vizier’s Tower, where he read the scroll that sank all of Orr, and on the wall...

A mural to the lost god, a testament to power that, a thousand years later, one who was expunged from history had a faithful likeness depicted.

Ascalon’s a burning hole and Orr is underwater. Now what? Those Ascalonian survivors in Kryta find the place is controlled by White Mantle. The White Mantle are committing mass murder via bloodstone sacrifice (bloodstones being the power curb the gods introduced after imbuing humans with magic) in order to halt the prophecy of a Chosen One opening the Door of Komalie. Vizier Khilbron turns up, shaking out some mysteriously wet boots don’t worry about that, and leads you against these genocidal cultists. Which, whoops, does lead to the Door of Komalie being opened - and it’s a doorway into Abbadon’s Realm of Torment, out of which Titans power through. This was the apocalypse planned for Kryta. Unlike the first two, this one is thwarted by the player. Kryta lives on. Vizier Khilbron is the final boss and turns out to have been a lich.

That’s 3 of the 5 human nations. What about Cantha and Elona?

GW: Factions is the Canthan chapter in which Shiro Tagachi, the emperor’s bodyguard, continually visits a fortune teller until she inflicts such paranoia on his mindset that he believes he needs to kill the emperor in self-defense. His defeat causes the Jade Wind that creates the Jade Sea. As a spirit, Shiro then engulfs Cantha in a plague that warps people into tumorous mutants. The fortune teller turns out to be an Abaddon minion whose task was the eventual destruction of Cantha. This one also is foiled by the player.

GW: Nightfall is the culmination chapter. Abaddon is now powerful enough, well known enough, to breach Tyria and try to come back. His agent is Varesh Ossa, who slowly transforms into a Margonite over the course of the game. The player confronts the breach between planes and finally enters the Realm of Torment, meeting the shades of Abaddon’s servants that came before, the lich form of Vizier Khilbron, and the spirit of Shiro Tagachi, before facing Abaddon himself.

And that’s the end of it. In Guild Wars magic cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred, so another god ascends in Abaddon’s place. They are once again The Six.

It’s Abaddon that ruined half the Elonian desert, Abaddon whose sinking of Orr gave Zhaitan the perfect mass grave to necromance, Abaddon who froze the Cantha sea into solid jade, and Abaddon whose final death and eruption of magic started waking Primordus, leading to the norn, dwarf and asuran alliance to stop it in 1078 AE-- introducing the norn and asura to the rest of Tyria, and making the dwarves extinct, cutting their entire race’s existence short. If it wasn’t for Abaddon, the charr wouldn’t have been taken over by their magic-toting shaman caste, only to come to their senses and rebel and ostracize the Flame Legion afterward. Hell, the current Flame Legion Imperators STILL style their horns in an homage to Abaddon, and probably don’t even remember why! To a human god, gone for over a thousand years, who used their race as pawns in a revenge attempt at wiping out every nation the humans had built!

And even after being thoroughly and completely destroyed, his magic STILL haunts Tyria enough for his statues to punish you for not showing the proper respect.

[bastsoldtrollblog]

How do you kill something that cannot die?

Akidis lifted herself slowly onto her knees.

For weeks, she had lain dormant, rotting at the bottom of a jail cell. Intermittently being fed upon by that woman, only to heal within moments, her power- No, Nirael’s power- Being sapped from her. That was all she could do, or so she thought. But despite Nirael’s power being stripped from her now, she could still feel an inkling of energy. Not Nirael’s power, but her own.

She had gained some valuable insight into her enemy, as well. The desperation with which Jannai called forth her reigning entity. The muted pain screaming from her very soul, twisted and corrupted though it was.

Jannai wanted nothing more than to die. But her death could only come about from the entity’s arrival, once it had finished with her.

Akidis took a deep breath, reaching into the depths of her ancient soul, seeking her true power which had lain dormant for so many sweeps. The power she thought had long since died out.

“Elliot,” she murmured. “Lend me your strength. Please.”

Her power welled up within, light blazing around her. She shed her corporeal form- A mere shell of Nirael’s creation- And a pair of fiery wings lifted her through the building’s ceiling, disintegrating it within moments.

Akidis hovered above the Fleet base, now a holy blazing wraith, a halo of light tendrils surrounding her.

Her gaze pierced through the roofs of the buildings, allowing her to locate precisely who she was seeking.

She merely gestured, and a ring of light formed around Jannai. Jannai gave an otherworldly shriek as though in agony, her form exploding into a mass of tentacles and rapidly reforming into herself, only to explode again, suffering excruciating pain by simply being contained. Cut off from the Entity.

Akidis gestured once more, and they both vanished, teleporting elsewhere; An empty waste where there would be little collateral damage.

There, Akidis began her true fight.

It was not a matter of her killing Jannai.

It was a matter of Jannai killing her.

Two immortal beings locked in unbreakable combat:

An immovable object versus an unstoppable force.

[fictionadventurer]

So Strong as Gentleness; Or, Powers and Prejudice

Episode One: Unstoppable Force

No one who had seen Jane Bennet in civilian guise would have supposed her to be a superheroine. Her features were marked by their delicate regularity and her expressions were notably docile and sweet. Her physique tended toward the slender and fragile. Her voice, when heard, was soft, and her movements were gentle to the extreme. If asked, the average bystander would have assumed her a particularly sheltered university student, designed to be a distressed damsel rather than a rescuing hero.

Yet she was, both by nature and heritage, perfectly suited for superheroism. Her mother had spent several years as one of Netherfield City’s most prominent superheroes, and her energy blasts had saved countless innocent bystanders from the machinations of superpowered troublemakers. Her father was a telekinetic, who, it is true, had only a short career in superheroism when he was pursuing the woman he would later wed, after which he had hung up his cape and retreated to his library, but he was a tolerant parent who had no objections to his daughters making use of the extraordinary abilities nature had given them. Jane herself was perhaps the most extraordinary of the five sisters. She had broken concrete with her infant fist, lifted an automobile by the age of three, and had matured into a young woman who could stop a train merely by standing in front of it. With such an upbringing and such abilities as these, how could any young woman avoid becoming a superhero of great renown?

Their mother had high hopes for such. Having retired at an early age when her health made the strain of hero work impossible to endure, her greatest hope now was for her daughters to take up their mother’s heroic crusade. Their quiet life in the country town of Meryton had allowed Jane and her sisters to develop their abilities without drawing attention to  themselves or endangering the populace, but such places offer few opportunities for true heroism. A heroine in hiding is no heroine at all. Something must and will occur to help her bring her abilities to the service of the public.

Thus Mrs. Bennet, after years of cajoling her husband, moved the family to the city of Netherfield, the bounds of which had long been a haven for those with extraordinary abilities. People with superhuman talents were allowed to live without interference so long as they did not interfere with the lives of their neighbors. Those who used their powers for the purposes of crime and villainy were stopped by those who used similar powers for heroic pursuits, and it was these masked heroes who received the greatest dispensation to use their abilities in a public setting without censure. There was, to Mrs. Bennet, no better place for her daughters to become what nature had made them to be.

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” Mrs. Bennet told her husband over breakfast one morning. “It seems that Charles Bingley has returned to Netherfield. What a fine thing for our girls!”

Mr. Bennet looked at her over the top of his newspaper before returning his attention to the stock prices. “How can it affect them?”

“You must know that Charles Bingley has connections to the superhero community. His family has funded several superhero teams and that he has personally befriended several of the Defenders. He could help our daughters launch their careers.”

“Was that his design in returning?”

“Design! What nonsense! But he may be persuaded to offer his assistance, if he became aware of what our daughters can do.”

“Do you hear that, Jane?” Mr. Bennet said, as the daughter in question joined her parents at breakfast. “Your mother wishes you to throw an automobile at Mr. Bingley’s head.”

“Mr. Bennet!” his wife replied in vexation. “Jane, I desire you to do no such thing. Your father will make the necessary arrangements.”

"Me? Why should I interfere? Jane is capable of demonstrating astounding feats of strength without my help.”

“She cannot be sent into the city for an open display of power; she’d be like as not to be branded a villain. It is safest to reveal herself to the public only after she has established connections to the superhero community.”

"Then you may go on patrol with her,” Mr. Bennet said. “Your outfit may be snug, but I’ve no doubt the city will welcome the return of one of its finest crime fighters and whichever protégés she brings as assistants.”

“My dear, you flatter me. I may have had my share of successes, but I don’t pretend to be anything extraordinary now. When a woman is my age, she must give over thinking of her own career and allow her daughters to establish themselves on their own merits. My influence and connections are twenty years out of date, while your old university contacts must contain a dozen people who can arrange an interview with Bingley Enterprises.”

“If an interview is all you want,” Mr. Bennet said, “There are more direct ways to arrange it.” He spread his newspaper atop his empty breakfast plate and pointed to a column in the classified ads. “Bingley Enterprises is hosting a hiring event and Mr. Bingley will be in attendance.”

Mrs. Bennet examined the newspaper before her--perhaps the first time in twenty-three years of marriage that she had shared in her husband’s habit. “My dear Mr. Bennet!” she cried in delight. “Jane, how clever your father is!”

Since Mr. Bennet had put forward this solution half in jest and chiefly from a desire to deflect as much possible effort from himself, he was more than a little alarmed to see his wife so sincerely delighted with the suggestion. “It is unlikely that Mr. Bingley will complete any of the interviews personally.”

But Mrs. Bennet had already spun half a dozen delighted theories as to how Jane could turn a chance encounter with Mr. Bingley into an immediate position on Netherfield City’s team of Defenders.

When Mrs. Bennet’s raptures had calmed, Mr. Bennet said more seriously, “Jane, you have not told us what you think of this. Does it please you to become Mr. Bingley’s superpowered secretary?”

Jane was not accustomed to being addressed so directly by her father. Her two most obvious features were that she was beautiful and strong, two traits that were coupled in most people’s minds with a lack of intelligence, and her father's interactions with her were often colored by such assumptions. She had not thought to wonder if she had a choice in the matter; her mother’s hopes for her superhero career had been the primary driving force of her life from her earliest memories. She could see that such an event offered little practical hope of meeting with Mr. Bingley, and in the event that such a meeting was arranged, she did not see how she could turn the conversation to the establishment of her superhero career. But she was also in need of mundane, paycheck-providing work, and Bingley Enterprises was as good a place as any to draw a salary, especially since a position in the company could also perhaps, in future, provide opportunities to bring oneself to the attention of Mr. Bingley’s heroic friends.

“I will go,” Jane said, after a moment of contemplation, “if Lizzie will go with me.”

“Lizzie?” Mrs. Bennet said in surprise. “What can Mr. Bingley want with her? She has nothing like your power, my dear, and scarcely any control. What if the jaguar should appear in the middle of the crowd?”

Jane had experienced several job interviews where her sister’s jaguar form would have provided a much-needed boost of confidence, but it was her sister’s confident human presence that she needed for moral support at such an event.

Lizzie entered the room on the tail-end of her mother’s speech, her eyes bright with laughter. “If the jaguar appears,” she said, “there will be need of her. I never transform anymore unless there’s someone deserving of a few bite marks.”

“Your definitions of deserving,” their mother said, “are looser than most people’s.”

“Then I shall give Jane the handling of my leash,” Lizzie said. “I won’t transform unless she thinks it necessary, and you know she prefers to assume everyone is a fount of human kindness. Is that civilized enough to satisfy you?”

Mr. Bennet replied, “It satisfies me. You have more sense than the rest of your sisters put together, Lizzie, no matter which form you’re in.”

“How can you abuse your own children in such a way?” Mrs. Bennet cried. “They all have excellent control over their abilities, not like Lizzie’s rampaging beast.”

Jane said, “Lizzie hasn’t rampaged in years, Mother.”

Lizzie nodded and said with mock solemnity. “And I have had ample temptation.”

Mrs. Bennet did not find this comforting. She had always been baffled by her second daughter’s quick wit and laughing ways, just as she had always been baffled by her husband, whose personality Lizzie’s most resembled, and the animal form was even worse than the human one. She had never been comfortable with her daughter’s gift of taking on a jaguar form; such unpredictable animalistic displays were far removed from the sleek, Lycra-suited grace that formed her image of a proper Netherfield superhero. Given her choice, she would have kept Lizzie far from the notice of anyone faintly connected with the city’s superhero community, and let them think their family’s next generation of crime fighters consisted only of four sisters. But Jane had the most impressive talents in the family and the potential to become one of the greatest superheroes in Netherfield’s history, and she rarely went anywhere without Lizzie. If Jane was to become Netherfield’s next superhero, Lizzie would have to be by her side.

“Oh, go!” Mrs. Bennet said at last. “But don’t blame me if you’re branded as villains before the day is through.”

[sergeantsporks]

I Won’t Let Go (or Run Away)

Gen, General Audiences

Nari won’t fight Skrael alone. Douxie won’t let it happen.

Based on this post by @archies-litterbox . I have never watched Pacific Rim and don’t know what drift compatibility is, but the idea of Douxie co-piloting Nari’s titan Vibes With Me.

@alovesongshewrote

Ao3

“No. You have a titan.”

Nari’s eyes started to glow, and her titan rumbled up.

She looked so… ethereal. And terrifying. And… a little bit sad. A titan fighting for them, a titan fighting against them—either way, she was alone.

So when Claire opened the shadow portal for them to get off the titan, Douxie didn’t go through it.

“Hey, c’mon! I can’t keep this open, I’ll need all of my magic for the titan’s portal.”

Douxie shook his head. “I’m not going to leave her alone again. I promised I would protect her.”

“Douxie,” Nari murmured, “You cannot share this with me. It is my burden.”

Douxie took Nari’s hand once more. “No more running, Nari. This is my fight, too. You are my fight.”

The world lit up, and he was huge, he was powerful, he could crush forests with his steps and destroy anyone who got in his way. Douxie let out an exhilarated laugh, lifting one arm and watching it crack stone with the force it came down with. He was unstoppable, he had the power of raw, untamed magic at his disposal and he was a god!

Nari’s hand in his anchored him to himself, reminded him who he was. Douxie. Punk-Rocker. Customer Service Expert. A master wizard. Certainly not a god.

Claire’s shadow portal surrounded them, transferring them to a forest. Nari leaned forward, and Douxie followed her lead. The titan ran forward at full tilt towards Skrael.

What if…

Douxie used his magic to light his regular hand on fire.

The titan fist he swung towards Skrael’s titan was wreathed in blue flame.

Skrael howled, whirling around to face them. “What—Impossible! You cannot pilot a titan!”

“Not alone!” Douxie responded.

Nari’s hand squeezed his, and she brought their other fist careening towards Skrael. The ice titan dodged, but barely.

“You cannot contain such power,” the ice demigod taunted, “It will consume you, and spit you out!”

“I won’t let it!” Nari howled. Vines shot out, reaching towards Skrael. With a thought from Douxie, they glowed blue and sent off a sleeping spell that made Skrael’s titan sway on its feet. Another punch from Douxie’s fiery fist sent the ice titan reeling.

Maybe Skrael was right about this consuming him—the scale of magic it took for the whole titan hand to light was exhausting, and Douxie could feel himself starting to fail.

A blow from Skrael sent them skidding to the side, and Douxie’s hand slipped out of Nari’s, instantly severing his connection to the titan. He fell, tumbling off of the titan towards the distant ground.

Falling.

Again.

“Douxie!”

Nari lunged out of her titan’s control sphere, holding onto a vine with one hand and grasping Douxie’s hand with the other. A vine snaked out, lashing their wrists together.

“Don’t leave me,” Nari begged.

Douxie gave her hand a squeeze. “No more running,” he murmured weakly, “I’ve got this—I can do it.”

The vine in Nari’s other hand retracted back into the titan, pulling the two of them up. They resumed control just in time to scramble out of the way as Skrael charged towards them. They whirled around, and Douxie lit his hand on fire, ignoring the wave of dizziness that swept over him. They slammed the fiery fist into Skrael again, knocking him back into the mountain. Nari’s vines stretched out again, and again Douxie set off another sleeping spell. Almost—there—

And then, all at once, there was blinding, horrible pain in his side, a freezing, stabbing sensation that seemed to freeze the blood in Douxie’s veins. He and Nari screamed in unison, their voices blending together into a harmony of agony.

Through the blizzard of pain, Douxie saw Nari raise their hand and stab Skrael back.

And then they were falling away, still connected by the vine at their wrists.

And by their hands, clutching each other.

Xxx

Claire screamed as the titan fell, running forward, stumbling over rocks and roots, but making her way to the fallen titan. Skrael was gone, reduced to dust, and she staggered over the pilot’s area of the earth titan. Douxie and Nari were still there, a barely-conscious Nari cradling a passed-out Douxie in her lap, their hands still linked and a vine wrapped around their wrists. Ice was spreading up their bodies from their sides, and their breaths were visible, little clouds in what was otherwise warm air. Claire skidded down next to them, checking Douxie for a pulse. It was there, but barely—and it was getting slower.

“Nari, you have to let go!” Claire begged, “You have to let him go—he’s dying!”

Nari shivered violently. “D-dy—”

The vine slowly retracted, and she started to pull her hand out of his.

Douxie’s hand clenched harder, and his eyes opened just a fraction. “N-no m-more r-r-running,” he chattered.

Claire felt Jim’s hand on her shoulder, but she was more focused on the wizard in front of her. “Douxie, please—”

“Sh-sharing the curse,” he murmured, his eyes unfocused, glowing slightly. Pulses of blue magic were rippling over his skin and spreading to Nari, slowing the ice down, only for a second, but each pulse prevented the ice from killing him just a moment longer. “S-stronger to-together. Camelot.”

“I can’t get you there, Douxie, I’m spent, that titan portal took too much—please, Douxie, I can’t lose you!”

He reached out with one hand and brushed Claire’s face. “Magic i-is emo-emotion. Use—use your fear. It—it doesn’t control you—you c-cont-trol it.”

Claire gripped his hand. “Come on,” she howled at the air, “I’m not going to lose him! ONE! MORE! PORTAL!”

It flickered, small, unstable. Shadows pressed at the corners of Claire’s vision, whispering and tugging at her soul, and she pushed them away.

“YOU! OBEY! ME!” she screamed, and the portal opened, swallowing them up and dropping them on the floor of Arthur’s throne room.

Xxx

Douxie staggered to his feet, pulling Nari along with him. He stumbled to the table with the gems in it, overshooting and spilling to the floor.

“Hngh—no—"

Blackness pressed at the corners of his vision—he was using so much magic, had used too much to fight Skrael and now it was all he could do to keep Nari and himself alive—but he summoned his staff, using it to haul himself up. “The gems,” he gasped, “They—” He scrabbled for one, prying at it with his fingers, but he was shivering so hard he couldn’t get a good grip. “Claire! Grab that yellow one!”

Claire pulled out a pocket knife and pulled it out. Douxie grabbed it, hobbling to Merlin’s study.

“What’s going on?!” Claire demanded.

“It’s—the gem—different gems hold—power—”

“Like the triumvirate stones?”

“Yeah—this one—fire—” Douxie grabbed a hammer, and handed a chisel to Nari. “Right—right there.” She held the chisel in place, and he slammed the hammer down on the gem.

Too hard, too hard, Merlin’s voice chided in his head, to shape a gemstone, you must be gentle, but firm.

But he didn’t have time to be gentle—he hit the gemstone again, and a surge of power flooded out, filling his veins with fire. It joined his own magic, and he and Nari floated up.

“Nari, now!”

He didn’t know how he knew she could save them—he just knew, the titan bond still joining them. He just felt it, deep in his soul, that their magics combined could stop the spread of Skrael’s curse.

Nari was chanting something in a language he didn’t know—or maybe he just couldn’t figure it out because everything was getting fuzzy, and now Nari’s magic was the only thing keeping him up. Her magic pulled on his own, and the power of the gemstone. They were surrounded by a maelstrom of flowers and vines made of dancing blue flames.

And then they were collapsing to the floor. He still felt cold, but the deadly ice no longer crept through him.

Nari pressed her forehead to his. “Share the curse, share the burden,” she murmured, “Thank you, Douxie.” She got up. “Bellroc still remains, and they will remake the world in fire. My task is not finished yet.”

Douxie grasped for her hand. “No!” he protested weakly, “We barely managed to defeat Skrael—you can’t—”

She giggled, holding out a hand. A flower made of ice formed. “I survived. I have assumed Skrael’s powers. I think—I think it will be enough. Not as good as you and I, but… enough. You cannot accompany me this time, Douxie. Stay here and rest. You are not a demigod—even together, piloting the titan cost you too much power. You cannot fight in this shape.”

Her face kept flickering in and out of focus, but Douxie clutched her hand as tightly as he could. “You can’t go—I have to go with you!”

Nari held up their linked wrists. The vine dissolved into green and blue magic, making a glowing, connecting thread that faded out of sight. “You do not have to be close to be with me, Douxie. We are linked like the moon and the tides—even separated by the expanse of space, they still know each other, are still affected by each other. You will be with me. Now rest.”

She tapped his forehead with one finger, and the world went black.

Xxx

“Shhhhhh, Steve, be quieter, you’ll wake him up!”

“He’s been asleep for ages, just wake him up already!”

“We told you, piloting the titan took a lot out of him. Regular wizards just aren’t built for it, and besides, he used a lot of magic in the fight—let him sleep.”

Douxie yawned, stretching. “Morning,” he mumbled. Everything was sore—and his whole body felt weak—but fuzzbuckets, he hadn’t gotten this much rest in, well, ever.

He tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over him, and he lay back down.

His friends all crowded around his bed. Jim was clutching Excalibur in his hands, and Douxie gestured to it. “Hey! You did it!”

Jim nodded, beaming. “We weren’t sure we could do it—I figured out what the ninth configuration was, but we needed you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah! And we were thinking ‘well, that’s it then, unless Claire teleports his unconscious body over here’ and then this—this glowing blue ball of light appeared, and it split into eight pieces and hit each of us, and then we… I don’t know, it just felt sort of… comforting? And hopeful? And then the eight of us were able to pull out Excalibur. I think… maybe you unconsciously sent out some magic?”

Claire gave him a warm smile. “You knew when we needed you. And you pulled through.”

A bolt of panic shot over Douxie, and he sat upright, ignoring the fatigue. “Nari! Where’s Nari?!”

“She’s fine,” Jim promised, “She was amazing—she fought Bellroc’s titan and got it down so we could face Bellroc, and then Toby used the anti-magic ray, and we… we finished the fight. Together.” He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “Even with their titan out, Bellroc put up a heck of a fight—it took all of us to finally take them down.”

“And—where’s Toby?”

“He’s okay, too. A few broken bones—he got pinned under rubble from the titan. But Nari got out of her titan and to him in enough time to save him. Guess what?! She found Strickler, too! He fell from the explosion and went under the ice! It froze him and sent him into a kind of hibernation, but she pulled him out. She’s resting now. Two titan fights in a row plus healing Toby and finding Strickler really took it out of her.”

“She grew a whole garden in the courtyard,” Aja breathed, “It’s beautiful—I wonder if she could make one for me back on Akaridion 5?”

“But after she wakes up, she’s going to use her empathy magic to find coordinates for Archie,” Krel volunteered, “And then we’ll just wormhole in!”

“And… the Chronosphere?”

Blinky gave a short nod. “In Camelot’s vault. Saving it for a rainy day. We saw the ninth configuration in it, and Claire managed to see and prevent Bellroc from stabbing Jim, so I suppose it served its purpose. Meddling with the powers of time is a dangerous endeavor.

Douxie nodded. “I know that one for sure.”

The powers of time moved on their own, in one direction. Forward. They managed to open a wormhole to the Hong Kong trollmarket, so Archie and Charlemagne could come and go as they pleased. Mrs. Lake became Mrs. Strickler-Lake. Jim refused to change his name.

Douxie still felt stabbing icicles in the night sometimes, waking him up from the pain.

Winter always filled him with dread.

And he almost always felt cold.

But Nari would always come—every time he started feeling just a little too frozen, every time he jolted up in the night, she was there.

And other times, he could sense her feeling the same, and he would be there for her. They shared the same curse, the same chill in their bones.

But they also shared the same fire. The same determination.

And that was enough.

[cinnbar-bun]

A Fool, A Sage, and a Lonely Friend Pt. 2

Pairing: Beelzebub x Reader x Lucilius

A/n: hello!! I return with the sequel after like… over a year hahaha … this ones a bit shorter, I think it’s best if I do smaller chunks versus just throwing a huge big piece like last time.

Warning: this is not canon. In the slightest. At all. Most of this is based on my interpretation of what I believe may have happened before WMTSB, and a lot of this has more dramatic and theatrical changes than what may have occurred. Please understand, I’m not trying to be canon- this is just for fun and I’m doing this to try and get to where we are now in canon! This series also contains mentions of abuse, sickness, death, and unhealthy relationships. If these make you uncomfortable, please do not read this.

Link to Part 1: https://cinnbar-bun.tumblr.com/post/190948837548/dark-rapture-and-chaos-lucilius-x-reader-x

“Open your eyes…”

He murmured softly against the body. His hand tightened around their wrist as he prayed for them to awaken.

Please... please... please…

Exhaustion and anxiety were all that remained in him. Ever since Beelzebub left to god knows where, he’d been focused on his newest creation.

A replica of the person he loved so dearly.

If everyone was to smite your existence, then he’d fix it all up for you. None would harm you. None would think to mistreat you or hurt you again. All they had to do was open their eyes, and he’d take care of them like how he couldn’t for you.

No movements. Lifeless. No pulse. Cold to the touch. No signs of any respiratory action.

He huffed as he pressed their cold hand against his cheek. He felt his eyes burn. It felt so much like when you were there… when you were in pain, suffering from that unknown illness even he could not figure out. He couldn’t help but mourn again. Everything was a constant reminder of what he had lost, and what he’d never get back.

A tear trickled down and he quickly wiped it away with his sleeve. He was tired. He was tired of crying. No more tears. There was no reason to cry when he was going to make you come back. He leaned over their body and used his thumb to graze across their cheek.

Nothing.

He sighed and was about to retract his hand when he saw their face scrunch up as they weakly creaked open their eyes.

“Wha… where…” they asked.

“My (Y/n)... you’re home.” He breathlessly whispered. He held their face with his hands and excitedly scanned them. Alive. It looked like them.

“Lucilius?” They asked, their voice barely above a whisper as they clenched their throat.

“You’re back. With me… I’m so happy. Come. I’ll have to perform some tests on you.” Lucilius said as he carried them in his arms. They looked at him with half-lidded eyes and tiredly nodded. “I can’t wait to show you all I’ve been doing.”

“What… what are you doing…?” they weakly called out. Lucilius tilted their chin up with his finger as he looked down on them.

“I’ve been working on bringing you back. I also made some new primarchs that you can befriend. Don’t you want to see that? You won’t be lonely anymore. You’re not in pain, are you?”

They opened their mouth before they shook their head. He smiled.

“Good...good… everything is right in the world now. I promise I won’t let anything hurt you anymore.”

They nodded and snuggled into his chest before they fell asleep again.

Ah, they still have sleeping spells. But that’s okay, I can fix that.

I’ll fix everything.

~

“Open your eyes.”

A cold voice awoke Beelzebub as he groaned in pain. He gripped his side before he felt a large force knock him over.

“What the-!” He yelled. He removed the black cloak covering his head and turned to his attacker. “You have some nerve-“

His heart stopped.

The assailant smirked at him and waved.

“Hello old friend.”

That voice! That… it can’t be…

How was it possible? How could it be that you ended up here? Here in this dark, disgusting hell? It couldn’t be you.

“(Y/n)?” He whispered. He felt he was being tricked. This was a cruel, sick joke. Pandemonium really was a disturbing and maddening place.

(H/c) hair, (e/c) eyes, (s/c) skin… things that reminded him of the love he lost. But so many things were different now. Those eyes were not wet with tears or weakened from sickness, instead, they were strong, burning with ambition that had him awestruck. The presence of you had become that of a… of a god, almost.

“Yes, it is me.” The figure nodded. They walked to him and gently placed a hand against his cheek. “Forgive me for hurting you, I just had to wake you up.”

He couldn’t respond. You were in front of him. After so long… after so many years of darkness and hatred and sadness spewing into his soul.

He gripped their wrist, wanting to hold you and make sure he wasn’t dreaming. That this wasn’t a cruel illusion placed by the gods of this world to torture him more.

“Beelzebub, darling, I’m here. You need to get up. We have unfinished business.”

“How are you alive?” He cut them off. They stared blankly before smiling again.

“I don’t know. All I remember is being offered a second chance. I need your help now.”

“What is it you need?”

“I know how cruel this world is. It has been so unkind to people like you and me. We are pawns in a game created by the gods. I am aware of how much it hurt you. But…” the figure hugged him, resting their head against his chest.

The warmth of your body against his made him feel nostalgic. He wrapped his arms around you and stroked your hair. Things he had wanted to do ever since you’ve been gone.

“But what if we became gods? Together?”

Beelzebub froze.

“You and I?”

“Mhm… just us two. Only the two of us, we who wish to seize control of our fate and take hold of our desires. We would be unstoppable, a force so strong that not even the gods could challenge us. All would bow to you, worship you, praise you. Don’t you want that, ‘Bubs’?”

He pulled the figure closer. The affectionate nickname that he never heard for so long… it felt like music to his ears.

“Heh… you don’t say? How did you know of what I wish?”

“Bubs, you fool. You don’t think I wouldn’t know what my love would truly want?” The figure chuckled before leaning into his ear. “I’ve missed you so much, Bubs. I’ve thought of you alone all this time. I wished to see you every day and dreamt of you every night. Is my dedication to my lord enough to prove how much I missed you?”

“Silence.” He whispered back. “You speak too much. To think, you’ve been here all along. Heh, I bet he never could have-“

The figure shut him up with a kiss to his lips. How long he had waited for that when he was a young, foolish boy. But now he was a man, a man with desires and dreams. No longer would he wait, instead, he’d claim. Claim all he wanted and desired.

The separation came far too quickly for his liking, and he held the figure close.

“Don’t talk about him. I’m here, Bubs. I just want you to think of me.”

“Tell me now what we will do to take over the skies. I don’t want to keep us waiting for our throne any longer.”

“I never thought you’d ask,” the figure smiled. “There is a certain… power. One that many cannot wield. But you, you’re different. You’re special, unlike anyone else here. This power can sow chaos wherever it goes, it can rip and tear anything asunder.”

“And what is this power?”

“It is called, chaos matter.”

[grimalkinmessor]

You ever just think about how ASTOUNDED literally every Irken ever would be to find Zim living domestically? Like, this unstoppable force of utter destruction and chaos who managed to take out two Irken leaders, cause multiple blackouts on tech reliant planets, and just generally fuck shit up right out of the smeetery? Zim is a brutal force of nature that cannot be contained.

And he's just laying on the couch with Dib, napping while Dib pets his antennae and scrolls through supernatural forums to start fights in the comment section.

GIR and Dib are literally the only two people that are able to calm Zim down enough for him to think clearly, and even that happens sparingly. I like to think that, once Dib's older and learns how to handle Zim a bit more, he's able to coax Zim down from a rant or tantrum or full scale killing spree with like, maybe a few words and gentle touches.

And any Irken who ever witnessed it would just--lose their shit. Shock. Awe. Reverence. Fear. Who is this creature that can tame the untameable? That can order chaos? What type of power does this human possess that he's able to handle ZIM?

And it's not just being nice to him. Skoodge and Keef were nice to Zim and Zim got so damn paranoid about it that he ended up trying to kill them both. It's about gaining his trust, his respect, his attention. And Dib has managed to gain all of it.

[it-begins-with-rain]

Chinese Language TV Recommendations

For my Korean TV Recommendations, click here.

*Contains both Mainland-Chinese and Taiwanese programs.

** Updated 05/23/21 with “Miss The Dragon” & “Word of Honor”

A Love So Beautiful

Can the pure love of 17-year-olds endure through all the challenges of college and adulthood?

Chen Xiao Xi and Jiang Chen are high school friends and neighbors who grew up together. Xiao Xi is happy-go-lucky and doesn’t like to study much but she has a talent for drawing. Jiang Chen is popular for his good looks and high grades, but is cold and indifferent to other people.

Their friends include swimmer Wu Bo Song, who will do anything for XiaoXi, the dorky and over-confident gamer Lu Yang, and Lin Jing Xiao, the most beautiful girl in school (who Lu Yang is hopelessly in love with).

How will the realities of life shape the friendships and love lives of these young adults?

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Ashes of Love // Heavy Sweetness, Ash-Like Frost

Jin Mi is the secret lovechild of the Flower Deity and the Water Immortal, conceived before the Flower Deity suffers a fatal wound.

The deity gives birth to a baby girl (Jin Mi) on her deathbed, and foresees the infant will face a terrible trial by her 10,000th year. To save her from her fate, the Flower Deity gives Jin Mi a pill that makes it impossible for her to ever feel romantic love. Upon her death, she forbids anyone in the Flower Kingdom from revealing the fact that she had a child.

Several thousand years later, Jin Mi is a bumbling little fairy trapped in The Water Mirror- a gilded prison where low-level fairies can live in peace. Jin Mi believes she is a small Grape Fairy, and lives a happy (if not dull) life within the Mirror with her friends.

When a charred bird falls from the heavens into the Water Mirror, Jin Mi decides to eat save the poor little ‘crow’– who in reality is Xu Feng, the mighty phoenix son of the Heavenly Emperor. Her decision to not eat save the Fire God will put them at the heart of plots and schemes, romances and adventures spanning the Flower Kingdom, Heavenly Realm, Demon Kingdom, and the Realm of Mortals.

**Trigger Warning: Contains reference to off-camera sexual assault.**

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Dance of the Phoenix

Feng Wu, a former genius girl in the Junwu Continent, was attacked by her old enemy Zuo Qingluan. In the attack, she lost not only her memories and abilities, but her “phoenix blood” which made her powerful.

In order to save Feng Wu her secret tutor, Master Mu Jiuzhou (a hero thought long dead whose soul is bound inside a ring Feng Wu wears around her neck), exhausted his vitality and fell into a deep coma.

The forces Master Mu Jiuzhou were trying to keep at bay are roiling again, readying for war unless Feng Wu can recover her memories, her power, and survive long enough to release him from the ring.

But if Feng Wu at full power couldn’t stop the evil Zhuo Qingluan’s attack and save herself, what chance does “normal person” Feng Wu have?

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Douluo Continent

Tang San is a hardworking and kind young man who was raised by his single father to be a blacksmith to a small village. His demanding father taught him secret techniques and cultivated unknown abilities while refusing to ever allow him to enter the world of the Soul Masters- heroes who use their inner power to defeat monstrous Soul Beasts and collect their power.

One day, Tang San is attacked in the woods by a fearsome Soul Spider and uses his special techniques to survive, drawing the eye of a nearby Soul Master. The man tests Tang San and discovers that while his Soul Spirit takes the utterly useless form of a common weed (as opposed to say a lion or a wolf), he harbors extreme untapped power and potential.

What only Tang San and his father know is that Tang San is a rare Twin-Soul, in possession of not one Soul Spirit- the Blue Grass- but a second extraordinarily rare weapon spirit capable of being wielded either against foes or in protection of innocents.

Unable to deny Tang San the ability to learn to control his power, his father allows him to leave the protection of the village and embark on a journey to develop his powers and perhaps learn the truth of his parentage.

On his journey Tang San will be joined by the mysterious and naïve Xiao Wu- a seemingly unstoppable and optimistic girl with a rabbit as her Soul Spirit and the ability to absorb the life force of Soul Beasts. They are led by a disgraced Soul Master in Training, Yu Xiao Gang, who was disregarded as a janitor all while studying Soul Masters and developing his own radical theories as to the nature of their power.

Tang San, Xiao Wu, Yu Xiao Gang, and the other friends they meet along the way will become a famous team of heroes known as the “Seven Devils of Shrek Academy”, and be drawn into an imperial struggle for power that threatens to consume their entire continent.

Tang San appears to the world as the master of the Silver Grass Spirit, but once that same world realizes the might of the Weapon Spirit he keeps hidden, he will have to fight with everything he has in order to protect what he holds dear.

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Fairyland Lovers

Bai Qi is a “spiritual doctor” who travels the world to rid spirits of their obsessions and stop them from becoming monsters. Eons ago he himself was at the threshold of becoming an Evil Spirit, and was saved by a Divine Warrior who helped him find a way to move past his darkness before tragically losing her life.

Isolated from the world and alone with a sprig of his lost love’s peach tree, Bai Qi meets the sunny but hapless actress Lin Xia. Not only does the tree come to life in her presence- and not only can she use the tools left behind by his lost lover- she also has the same face.

Curious, Bai Qi enters into a co-habitation agreement with Lin Xia and she helps him cleanse souls before they can turn into Evil Spirits. As their lives intersect, a memory that Bai Qi sealed away for over ten thousand years begins to surface.

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Guardian

Super-Detective Zhao Yunlan meets university professor (and powerful supernatural being) Shen Wei and the two men are instantly drawn together by a past one cannot forget and a future the other cannot guess. As they grow closer, they find themselves at the heart of a high-stakes supernatural battle between unknown enemies.

Will the heroic duo’s unique talents- and special bond- be enough to help them outwit the forces of darkness?

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Handsome Siblings (2020 Netflix Edition)

Hua Wuque is a pillar of righteousness and virtue, the only male disciple of the powerful Yihua Palace cultivation clan. An orphan, he was taken in by the clan leader and her sister and raised with only one goal in life: to find and kill Jiang Xiaoyu, a mighty villain and enemy of Yihua Palace.

So who is Jiang Xiaoyu? Also known as Xiaoyu’er, Jiang Xiaoyu is an orphan himself- the same age as Hua Wuque in fact- raised by the five most feared and hated villains in the world within the confines of the Wicked Canyon. Into Jiang Xiaoyu the villains poured their knowledge, tricks, and ruthlessness, seeking to create the ultimate villain. There is only one problem: As he was raised in the Wicked Canyon and surrounded by nothing but villains, Jiang Xiaoyu mostly uses his abilities to… harm villains and protect the weak.

When Jiang Xiaoyu comes of age and leaves the Wicked Canyon (or rather, becomes too much of a trickster for the villains to handle anymore), Hua Wuque is unleashed to venture from Yihua Palace and hunt down his enemy.

But how could someone kept confined in the Wicked Canyon for the first 18 years of his life be a threat to Yihua Palace? And why must Hua Wuque be the one to kill him (under direction that Jiang Xiaoyu cannot die naturally, be killed by someone else, or kill himself)?

There is a piece of the story Jiang Xiaoyu and Hua Wuque do not know: they are orphans of the same tragedy, in which the divine hero Jiang Feng spurned the love of both leaders of Yihua Palace for a beautiful servant named Hua Yuenu. Hua Yuenu was forced to commit suicide and Jiang Feng killed himself rather than submit to the Ladies of Yihua–

Leaving behind newborn (non-identical) twin sons.

Yihua Palace’s plot is a simple (if OTT) act of vengeance against Jiang Feng’s memory:: Force one brother to murder the other, then reveal to Hua Wuque the sin he has committed and let it drive the boy insane.

Will the truth come out before Wuque finds and kills Xiaoyu, or will the evil Ladies of Yihua Palace finally have the vengeance they have waited for for over 18 years? As Wuque and Xiaoyu’s paths cross more and more they strike up an unlikely friendship, even knowing there is no escaping their dark fate.

**Trigger Warning: Later episodes include off-camera sexual assault and on-camera depictions of near-rape.**

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Hi My Sweetheart

Xue Hai is a kindhearted (and extremely wealthy) but naïve man who has been sheltered by his big sisters his entire life. He decides to go to college in China- where no one knows him- under the name Da Lang and with the image of a poor scholarship student. There Xue Hai meets the dominant, friendless, and rebellious Bao Zhu. Naturally the two fall in love, but after 4 years together, just as he’s going to reveal his identity and propose, Bao Zhu viciously dumps him.

Fast forward three more years. Xue Hai has transformed himself into a handsome but ruthless playboy who treats women as nothing more than toys to be used and cast aside. When he chances across Bao Zhu once more, he decides to launch a campaign to destroy her heart as thoroughly and mercilessly as she did his.

Except Xue Hai is missing one important piece of their love story: Bao Zhu only left him to protect him from her domineering mother, and she has been searching for her beloved Da Lang ever since.

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The King’s Avatar

In the online multiplayer game Glory, Ye Xiu is well known as the undisputed master of professional sports- though no one outside of the professional teams actually knows what he looks like as he hides his face from media and fans. A player since he was a child- and raised largely in professional player training camps- Ye Xiu has no understanding of the outside world.

Halfway through the season, the money-hungry company behind his team, Excellency Era, forces him out and replaces him with an undisciplined hot-shot. Penniless and with nowhere to go, Ye Xiu crosses the street and enters the Happy Internet Cafe. The owner is a diehard fan of the mysterious Ye Xiu, and hires Ye Qiu as an IT manager not for his experience, but for his shared love of the game.

When Glory launches their tenth server, Ye Qiu throws himself into the game once more. Equipped with ten years of gaming experience, memories of an unfinished pledge to a dead friend, and an incomplete self-made weapon, Ye Qiu will rise from the ashes, forge a new team, and take back his crown.

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The Lost Tomb**

50 years ago, a group of Changsha grave robbers known as the “Mystic Nine” dug out manuscripts of the location of treasures from the Warring States period, but soon after almost the entire group was hunted down and slaughtered.

In the present, the young grandchild of the sole survivor, Wu Xie, discovers a secret within his grandfather’s notes as well as half of a silk manuscript that may reveal the location of the lost tomb. But there is one problem- the other half of the manuscript is held by a shady organization of tomb raiders eager to break in and steal whatever cultural relics are inside the tomb.

Wu Xie has a “National Treasure” moment and decides that in order to stop the objects in the tomb from vanishing into the black market he will break in first and recover whatever is inside (’I’m going to steal the Declaration of Independence…’).

Wu Xie is helped on his journey by his beloved “Third Uncle” Wu Sanxing, his uncle’s right hand man Panzi, and the mysterious Xiao Ge - a tomb raider who seems to know of traps before they are sprung and whose hand has been mutilated in a way not seen among tomb robbing families in over a century.

They expected to find a lost tomb, perhaps chase away some thieves, and learn about an exciting piece of lost history. What they did not expect was for the tomb to strike back, the dead to rise, and the past to fight and keep what secrets it holds.

Who exactly are this alternate group of tomb robbers? What are they searching for? What exactly is protecting the tomb? Whose side is Xiao Ge truly on? And- most crucially- can Wu Xie survive long enough to find the answers?

** This recommendation is part of a broader series of shows and movies, all adapted from “The Gravedigger’s Notebook” and its sequels::

The Lost Tomb (2015)

The Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Note (2016)

Time Raiders (2016 movie)

The Mystic Nine (2016)

Tomb of the Sea (2018)

Reunion: The Sound of the Providence (which gets its own recommendation below; 2019-2020)

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Love O2O

** O = letter, not number

Wei-Wei has both beauty and brains. A computer goddess, she aspires to be an online game developer. In her spare time, she plays her favorite online game ‘A Chinese Ghost Story’- where she has made a name for herself as the top female player on the entire server.

After her online husband dumps her, she gets a message from legendary player Yixiao Naihe- asking to become her online husband (marriages in-game offer certain benefits and quest lines single players cannot achieve).

Little does Wei-Wei know that Yixiao Naihe is also her college senior and the most desired man on campus, Xiao Nai.

Will their online chemistry lead to a real-life romance? Yes. Of course it will. It’s in the title.

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Miss The Dragon

As a humble maid, Liu Ying never expected her life to be anything other than ordinary. Content with the world and her place in it, she spent her days tending to injured creatures and assisting her mistress Xia Hou Xue. But when Liu Ying finds an injured little snake and nurses it back to health, she has no idea how her life is about to change.

That little snake turns out to be a thousand year old Draong King named Yu Chi Long Yan. He falls in love with Liu Ying, and decides to repay her kindness by naming her as his queen.

And then Xia Hou Xue is captured by a wolf demon. Liu Ying flips the script- begging Yu Chi Long Yan to repay her kindness instead by rescuing her mistress and then keeping her safe for three lifetimes. Trapped by his word, Yu Chi Long Yan agrees to do so, though he secretly remains by Liu Ying’s side.

Now in her fourth lifetime, Liu Ying is reincarnated as Gu Qing Yan. She slowly becomes aware of his existence in her life- and her past lives as well. After waiting three lifetimes to be reunited with his lost love, Yu Chi Long Yan will fight with everything he has to keep her safe and get the Happily Ever After they should have had three thousand years ago.

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My Roommate is a Detective

Shanghai in 1925 is caught between gang leaders and the European powers colonizing China.

A resourceful young police officer named Qiao Chu Sheng is on the trail of a brutal but devious killer. Realizing that the police force will need some extra help with this difficult case, he decides to form an elite crime-busting detective team. He reaches out Lu Yao, a Cambridge graduate a slick con-man.

Qiao Chu Sheng has learned that Lu Yao has remarkable powers of deduction and a brilliant mind – and believes he can help crack this difficult case. To round off the team, he enlists the help of Bai You Ning, a focused young female reporter for a daily newspaper. A free-thinking, independent young woman, she has a strong sense of justice – and pledges to help catch the killer.

The trio form a small detective squad that specializes in solving strange and unsettling murder mysteries.

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Oh My Emperor

Fei-Fei, a young doctor, is wounded in an accident and finds herself trapped in the ancient and mystical nation of Huang Dao. The people of Huang Dao are ruled by a king born of the stars- the physical embodiment of one of the twelve zodiac constellations. To keep discord from arising among the people, the Twelve Zodiac Masters govern together to keep the peace.

But a thirteenth sign has been forcibly subjugated, it’s Lord executed, and its people scattered to the wind. The lost sign- Ophiuchus- is rising once more- and Fei-Fei is its (unwilling) Master.

It only complicates matters slightly that Fei-Fei finds herself between the handsome and charming Master of Aquarius and his nephew- the cold Master of Capricorn (who is also the Emperor). Can Fei-Fei keep her identity secret long enough to solve the mystery of the Ophiuchus purge- or is Huang Dao doomed to destruction?

**This drama is a showpiece for members of the Chinese pop group X-Nine, do not judge it by the same standards as a traditional drama. Showpiece dramas tend to be a bit silly.

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Reunion: The Sound of the Providence**

Wu Xie, “Fatty” Wang Pangzi, and the quasi-immortal tomb raider Xiao Ge (AKA Zheng Qiling, Kylin, and “Poker Face”) have faced many dangerous tombs together over the past twelve years.

Now, it is time for them to go on their last great adventure as the so-called “Iron Triangle” before Wu Xie sets off on the journey all must eventually make: death. He always thought his end would come in a dangerous tomb, but instead it will be lung cancer that claims his life. With only 3-4 months left to live, Wu Xie hides the truth of his illness from his friends and family, revealing the truth only to Xiao Ge.

Once upon a time, Wu Xie was told that when a man meets his death he must do so with a clear conscience. But something has been weighing on Wu Xie- his Third Uncle’s disappearance at the end of their first adventure. Right on time, a message from his long lost uncle appears, setting Wu Xie on a desperate mission to find him before the cancer eating away at his body destroys him at last.

This will most likely be Wu Xie’s final journey, but he will do anything in his power to make sure his friends and family will be safe long after his time is up. In the final 3-4 months of Wu Xie’s life he will seek to unravel the mystery of the “Thunder City”- starting with the most dangerous tomb he’s ever explored, The South Sea King’s Tomb.

The sound of thunder hides a secret men have killed for, but is there really a way to hear the words of gods within it? Someone clearly thought so, but who? Is Uncle Sanxing still alive, or is someone in the shadows guiding Wu Xie to them?

Wu Xie’s enemies thought he was dangerous before, but now he is a dying man with a mission. There is no telling what lengths he will go to in order to achieve his goals. He might just manage to die in a tomb after all…

** This recommendation is just the latest installment in an entire series of stories adapted from “The Gravedigger’s Notebook” and related novels::

The Lost Tomb (2015)

The Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Note (2016)

Time Raiders (2016 movie)

The Mystic Nine (2016)

Tomb of the Sea (2018)

Reunion: The Sound of the Providence (2019-2020)

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The Romance of Tiger and Rose

Chen Xiao Qian has dedicated her life to making her dream of becoming a well-respected screenwriter come true. Standing on the production set of sweeping dramas she penned through endless blood, sweat, and tears, Xiao Qian can hardly believe what she is seeing: her work, come to life!

Except it isn’t a set. And her work truly has come to life.

Her script is a simple one: the heirs of two rival cities who seek to destroy one another enter into a doomed romance that will lead to endless betrayals and a war that will kill the male lead, Han Shuo.

There is just one problem- Xiao Qian wakes in the body of Han Shuo’s first wife on the day he will murder her! The only way for Xiao Qian to return to this world is to survive the story, but in keeping herself alive longer the script begins to change, and Han Shuo begins to fall in love with the wrong person.

At first it is easy for Xiao Qian to keep herself alive- just go along with the script! But the story wants to return to the original plot, which means characters who should be friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and Xiao Qian might not live long enough to find her way home.

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The Untamed

On the cliffs of the Nightless City, upon defeating his enemies in a bloody slaughter, the cruel and vicious Yiling Patriarch- Wei Wuxian- threw himself to his death.

Sixteen years later, he is resurrected by a madman and given a second chance to right what went so terribly wrong long ago. Wei Wuxian reunites with the honorable, righteous, and stern Lan Wangji- his confidant, soulmate, and best friend.

How can someone as upstanding as Lan Wangji befriend the monstrous and hated Yiling Patriarch? What turned the happy and popular Wei Wuxian into the man who slaughtered thousands at Nightless by weaponizing the souls of the dead?

And what terrible secret was Wuxian resurrected to unearth?

The past is not always what it seems, and there is no clean line between right and wrong.

**Don’t worry if you’re lost when the show starts, that is by design. Near the end of episode 2 the show will enter a 30 episode long flashback sequence to answer all questions.

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Well Intended Love (Season 1: Drama Version)

Seasons 1 and 2 of “Well Intended Love” feature the same stars playing the same characters, but the storylines are alternate-universes of one another telling the story from a different genre. Each season is wholly independent of one another.

A third-rate actress with leukemia becomes entangled with the handsome but cold CEO Ling.

In order to receive a bone marrow transplant and contniue her career as an actress, Xia Lin enters into a secret marriage with Ling Yi Zhou. Despite the conspiracies and misunderstandings they encounter, the two begin to find true love.

But one question nags at Xia Lin’s mind:: Why did the cold, controlling, and distant Ling YiZhou need her to play the role of wife?

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Well Intended Love (Season 2: Rom-Com Version)

Seasons 1 and 2 of “Well Intended Love” feature the same stars playing the same characters, but the storylines are alternate-universes of one another telling the story from a different genre. Each season is wholly independent of one another.

Rising TV superstar Xia Lin finds herself embroiled in scandal after a run-in with business mogul Ling Yizhou at a party. To clear up any misunderstandings the two prepare a joint press conference– where Xia Lin is stunned by Ling Yizhou’s statement that the two are- in fact- an engaged couple.

Ling Yizhou convinces Xia Lin to play fiancee for a period of one year, after which they can go their separate ways. To save face in front of her fans, Xia Lin agrees. She gradually begins to fall for the lovable and doting Ling Yizhou.

Someone works in the shadows to destroy everything Ling Yizhou holds dear- and the closer he gets to the heart of the conspiracy, the more he realizes Xia Lin may have a target on her back as well.

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Word of Honor // Faraway Wanderers

Zhou Zi Shu has served as the leader of Heaven’s Window for much of his life. A once righteous and honorable sect who acted as an elite Secret Service for the royal family, a corrupt prince has turned them into his personal assassin’s guild. With their oaths to Heaven’s Window as nooses around their throats, most of Zhou Zi Shu’s elders and friends have chosen death over continued service.

Wholly disillusioned, Zhou Zi Shu only wants to atone for the crimes he was forced to commit under his oaths to the prince. He endures the slow execution of Heaven’s Window- a process that sees seven nails inserted into the victim and ushers in a slow and painful death that takes three years to play out.

By gaming the system he helped create, Zhou Zi Shu manages to buy himself an extra year and a half of life to wander the world and wipe some of the blood from his slate.

In his wanderings, he is pulled into a conspiracy surrounding a young boy and meets a strange young man named Wen Ke Xing who sticks to him like glue. Zhou Zi Shu and Wen Ke Xing grow closer and closer throughout their journey to find a mysterious treasure that is rumored to give its owner unlimited power.

But just who is Wen Ke Xing? What is he really after? And most importantly of all- can Zhou Zi Shu really trust his new companion?

[sophiamcdougall]

EXPLAINING SANREMO

(PART 1) Last week I was swept away, helpless, by the avalanche that is the Sanremo Song Festival and I am still recovering. For your safety, I’ve tried to keep the insanity contained on my Italian side blog. But I want to try to offer you a rough summary of what I’ve learned. Sanremo inspired the Eurovision Song Contest. Over five nights, 24 acts, each with a brand new song, compete at the Ariston theatre in Sanremo for a tacky little golden lion, and the glory of being the year’s Song for Italy. 2020 marked the 70th Sanremo, so depending on who you ask, it’s a venerable national treasure or it’s stale and embarrassing (Many Italians are sick of it. Or say they are, but see below.) It is also an EPIC STRUGGLE between THE FORCES OF GOOD AND EVIL FOR THE SOUL OF HUMANITY Let’s meet some of the protagonists: 

AKA: host Amadeus, entertainer and comedian Rosario Fiorello, il Bel Paese, and competitor Achille Lauro.

Amadeus got things off to a bad start before the show even began by praising his various female co-hosts - all seasoned TV professionals - for their beauty and their ability to stay “a step behind a man.” Outrage ensues, Amadeus claims he did not mean it like that, but keep this in mind for later. Also competing are Morgan (below, left) and Bugo (below, right.), who are performing a duet.

Going in, the one thing I know about Morgan is that on more than one occasion, he trashtalked my beloved and blameless Fabrizio Moro. So I hate him and want him to suffer. And apparently he has quite the reputation for throwing tantrums, picking on fellow-artists and sabotaging events he’s part of. But hey. He’s supposedly talented and Bugo clearly thinks he deserves another chance.  And we’re off!

Irene Grandi kicks things off with  “Finalmente Io” (“Finally Me”). But I’m starting with her not so much because she’s the first to sing as because I don’t think the song’s  got enough attention -- either for the fact that it bangs or for what it represents in the drama that’s about to unfold.

Finalmente Io is what, in the business, we call foreshadowing.

There’s a magical thing that happens to women with when they turn 40. The  develop Not-Giving-A-Fuck superpowers. The song is basically about that. It’s about freedom, and self-acceptance, and being 100% done with male bullshit. (It's also a bit of an ADHD anthem but let’s leave that aside for now.)  “I’ve lost all my patience, and all my fragility,” she sings. 

And, “If you want sex, let’s do it now. Heeeeeeere.”

Irene is the portent everyone misses, a harbinger of what is to come. 

Think of her as John the Baptist.  Onwards. So the first thing one discovers about the Sanremo Festival is that just because we have to get through 24 “big” acts AND 6 (?) new/junior artists, and they all have to perform multiple times, that doesn’t mean there’s any RUSH. Guest singers wander on and perform a song or ten. There’s comedy. We can stop everything to talk about football.  A lady comes on and talks for a million years about how her granny taught her that True Beauty is Found Within. There are also speeches about important subjects like violence against women. In fact, we are going to talk about that a lot, but also a bunch of competent and experienced female TV personalities are stuck taking turns at playing Amadeus’s Glamorous Assistant of the evening and he can’t shut up about how beautiful they all are while they cringe and lean subtly away from him. So it’s ... slow, and awkward, but within its own cheesy terms, things are normal. Too normal. Enter Achille Lauro. 

Softly, almost whispering, he begins to sing a song called  “Me ne frego”  (”I don’t care” - but with an edge of “fuck you”). This is both an everyday Italian expression and a fascist motto. Well, it was till now. 

A nation is convulsed. Right-wing Italian boomers are screaming because YOU! CAN’T! DO! THAT! AT! SANREMO! THERE! ARE! CHILDREN! WATCHING! Italian Tumblr, which like the rest of Tumblr is feral, thirsty and gay, is screaming for different reasons entirely. 

Achille, you scandalous creature, what have you done? What have you got to say for yourself?

Something strange and magical  has released and it cannot be contained. On with the songs. Good songs, bad songs, blah songs. I like “Tikibombom” by Levante - a love letter to weirdos and rebels, “Rosso di Rabbia” (Rage Red) by Anastasio about being, well, angry but scared you can’t do anything useful with it, and “Eden” by  Rancore, about... the nature of sin?? touching on everything from September 11 to the mafia to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.   However, this contest is being judged (mostly - it’s complicated) by an industry jury of FOOLS, COWARDS, and TRAITORS who KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO, so virtually all of the above artists are so far languishing towards the bottom of the provisional rankings. Achille ends up in 17th place and  Rancore at 22.

Truly, the light hath shone in the darkness and the darkness knoweth it not.

LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO RANCORE. 

Rapper down, repeat RAPPER DOWN. SEND HELP.

However, for people who went in implacably biased against Morgan, it’s not all bad news. "Sincero” (Sincere) by Morgan and Bugo is in last place. Whether this is anything to do with the song or because Morgan is a nightmare of a person who has systematically alienated everyone in the Italian music industry except the trusting Bugo ... we can but ponder.  Sanremo grinds on. Days blur into each other and I’m not even going to try to cover events in exact order. Sanremo knows no order. Sanremo is like the universe, linear time is a construct that doesn’t really exist, and chaos happens very, very slowly.  But meanwhile, somewhere on the astral plane:

At least that is what I deduce must have happened.

The competitors and guests look deep within themselves. Do they have what it takes? Are they ready to answer the call? 

Let’s see! It’s Covers Night! Which is also Duets Night!

That’s Elettra Lamborghini (yes, that Lamborghini) and Myss Keta.

 Are they in tune? No. Does it matter? ALSO NO.

Meanwhile ... something strange is brewing between Amadeus and Fiorello...

 But wait, PLOT TWIST.

Enter Roberto Benigni.

The beloved actor and director is the latest avatar of the Dionysian frenzy that has chosen Sanremo 2020 for the place of its birth. He is the One who will unite the electric queer mayhem and the impossible grinding tedium  of Sanremo. In him, the two strains will fuse and become unstoppable. He is going to talk about sex for twenty-six minutes

He reads from the Song of Songs, which ... I knew it was sexy, and all, but is it really like that? Do you ever think about NAKED BODIES? Roberto does. Do you believe in PHYSICAL LOVE? Roberto wishes you would. Anyway, just think of all the sex we could all be having, literally right now, right heeeeere, whether we are  “a woman, and her man. Or a man and his man. Or a woman, and her woman!” He is awful. He is magnificent. He is excruciating. He is spellbinding. We are hanging on his every word and we are considering chewing our own arms off to escape. He proposes an orgy in the orchestra pit. 

Hand on heart, all of that happened. Italian Tumblr, bear witness.

And what of Achille Lauro? He unleashed this madness upon us all,  is he just going to sit back and let everyone else do all the work? Of course not. Achille Lauro came to bring not peace, but a sword, to the world of toxic masculinity and gender in general and his work is not yet done.

”I too was once a little girl,” Achille sings.

Dressed as Bowie-as-Ziggy, Achille duets with Annalisa on “Gli Uomini Non Cambiano” - “Men Don’t Change”. It’s a heartbreaking song by Mia Martini from 1992 about male abuse of women, and not a single word, or a single pronoun has been changed.

However, although he’s the one in the competition, and the one dressed to dazzle, he leaves Annalisa the spotlight. It’s like she’s the tortured protagonist of the song and he’s a voice in her head, a sympathetic spirit who can’t swoop in to rescue her but can quietly affirm that she deserves better than the the hellish treatment she’s singing about. in fact, he pointedly stays a step behind her at all times. And she’s majestic. 

Of course, he’s not fucking DONE

He’s still got to sing “Me Ne Frego” again. Can he top the cape-drop? You be the judge.

So Italian Tumblr,  is now writhing on the carpet,  making a sound only bats can hear, and shitposting itself into delirium, but has it all been ENOUGH?

NO.

Poor Rancore has died again. Toxic masculinity still exists. Amadeus is still pretty gross. Everyone is going to have to GAY HARDER. CAN THEY DO IT? This post is, like Sanremo itself, getting insanely long, so ... STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO, in which Fiorello’s true nature as a chaos being is revealed, Amadeus faces his Calvary, and the gun on the stage goes off.  ----- UPDATE: Part 2 is here